Giant Panda
My favorite animal is a giant panda.
Pandas live in a very small mountain region in central China. This area has
plenty of rain, mild summers, and cool winters. The climate is good for the
bamboo plant, which grows densely in the mountain forests. And this is good for
pandas.
Although most bears are omnivores,
pandas are herbivores. They spend about 12 hours every day eating bamboo! Why
so much? It’s because bamboo isn’t very nutritious and their digestive systems
can’t digest it well. So pandas have to consume huge amounts for their bodies
to absorb enough nutrients.
In order to eat bamboo, pandas have developed
certain adaptations. One adaptation is flat molars that help pandas grind the
plant material. Pandas also have a long bone that extends from their wrist, which
allows them to better grasp bamboo shoots and leaves.
Nobody knows for sure why the pandas
eat bamboo instead of other plants. But some scientists think it is because
bamboo grows so densely, and the pandas don’t have to compete with other
animals for it.