Eat Only Bamboo, How Do Pandas Survive? page all

KOMPAS.com – Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most unique vegetarians.

Pandas have digestive systems that evolved to process meat, but they only eat bamboo, every day and all year round.

A study has revealed how pandas can survive on a very limited type of food.

Panda diet

Reported from American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), pandas are bears, so they still have a meat-eating digestive system.

Therefore, pandas have a simple stomach and a short small intestine.

Also read: Panda Only Eats Bamboo, Why Do Pandas Stay Big?

They do not have a four-chambered stomach, like cows, to digest plants effectively.

Meanwhile, pure bamboo contains almost no protein and a lot of indigestible fiber.

Researchers observed three male pandas and three female pandas in the Qinling Mountains, China, to find out what they ate in their natural habitat for 6 years.

The research team also analyzed the pandas’ diet in depth by measuring the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium in the plants they ate.

“There is strong evidence that animals try to forage as effectively as possible to meet their nutritional needs, namely by mixing foods to provide complete nutrition,” explains primatologist Jessica Rothman of Hunter College City University of New York.

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“In areas where there is only one edible plant, animals may try to eat different parts of the same plant.”

This is what pandas seem to do to survive on bamboo.

The two species of bamboo in Qinling, wood bamboo and arrow bamboo, grow at different heights and grow new shoots and leaves at different times of the year.

During the mating season in the spring, pandas feed on young shoots that are rich in nitrogen and phosphorus.

By June, the bamboo shoots have matured and contain less nutrients, so the pandas migrate to higher ground in search of young shoots.

Also read: Good News, China Announces Panda is No Longer Threatened with Extinction

However, the shoots of both bamboos had low calcium levels, which pushed the pandas towards their next diet change in mid-July.

At these times, young arrowroot bamboo leaves which are rich in calcium are a mainstay for pandas.

The research team found that this diet appeared to affect the panda’s reproduction.

Although pandas mate in the spring, they undergo “delayed implantation,” in which the embryos are in a state of stalled development in the mother’s womb until they attach and resume growth.

Research speculates that panda embryos will resume development once there is enough calcium in the diet.

Also read: Animal Video, This Panda Prefers Snacking on Bamboo Than Marriage

In August, the female panda will return to lower ground and give birth to a small pink panda cub.

At that time, the brooders began to eat young wood bamboo leaves which had sufficient nutrients, including calcium needed for breastfeeding.

The next question, how do pandas survive the winter with their limited food?

Wooden bamboo leaves age during this season and their nutritional levels drop, causing high mortality among pandas.

Records from Qinling show that among the 25 cases of dead or sick pandas over the past 37 years, more than half occurred in March and April, right after winter.

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But wildlife biologist Dajun Wang of Peking University says pandas may be getting their nutrition from elsewhere as well.

“I’ve seen them scavenge from time to time.” “They may also get calcium and other nutrients from licking rocks,” he says.

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