Today is National Panda Day!
National Panda Day is a day to celebrate the panda! Pandas are a species of bear that are native to China. In fact, they are considered a national symbol of the country, much like the bald eagle here in the United States.
Pandas in the wild predominantly eat bamboo, but they have also been known to eat other grasses and even birds and rodents. Raw bamboo is toxic to humans thanks to containing cyanide compounds (hence why bamboo is boiled for human consumption), but pandas can eat it thanks to their bodies having a strong ability to metabolize it.
Pandas are terrestrial, meaning they live entirely on land. Adult pandas are solitary critters, with female pandas not liking others in their ranges. Wild pandas have been known to attack humans, but they generally are considered docile.
Pandas have been threatened by habitat loss and deforestation, but conservation efforts over the years have shown a rise in the number of wild pandas. They are still vulnerable, but things are improving.
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