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Do Giant pandas have thumbs
01:00 Mon 09th Jul 2001 | Animals & Nature
A.� Not strictly speaking, not in the same way that primates do. Their extra 'thumb' is actually an elongated wrist bone on their front paws, which is used for gripping the slender shoots of bamboo, their staple food.
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Q.� How much time do Giant pandas spend eating
A.� Up to 14 hours a day, with the rest set aside for sleeping. They need to spend so much time munching to obtain sufficient nutrients, which bamboo is very low in.
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Q.� Are pandas vegetarians
A.� Almost exclusively, however, when bamboo is scarce they have been seen feeding on carrion, but this is very rare.
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Q.� How much bamboo do pandas eat
A.� Up to 5 kilos of leaves and stalks from over 30 species of bamboo a day. They have large canines that make light work of the stalks.
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Q.� Why are Giant panda cubs so small
A.� Giant panda cubs, and bear cubs in general are born much smaller than any other mammals, only 10% that of similar sized animals, because their mothers fast during pregnancy. The pregnant bears body provides glucose to the foetus by breaking down proteins, however, since not enough nutrients are provided, the cubs are born premature, hence their low birth weight.
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But once on the outside the cubs receive breast milk much richer in fats and nutrients than other mammals, so much so that they don't need as much milk as other mammal babies.
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The tiny cubs are born blind and hairless, weighing no more than 120 grams. Giant panda cubs develop rapidly, and they put on over 20 times their birth weight in just eight weeks.
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Q.� How many Giant pandas are there left
A.� There are less than 1000 Giant pandas left in the world.
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Q.� Are there any other types of panda
A.� Yes, the smaller red panda, which isn't much bigger than the average house cat. Whereas its bigger cousin is almost a metre at shoulder height.
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As its name suggests it's got red fur, along with a long bushy ringed tail, a short white nose and dark tear tracks. It also feeds almost exclusively on bamboo and has an extra 'thumb'. It spends the main part of the day sleeping high in the branches of trees with its tail over its head.
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Red Pandas are known by several other names including lesser panda and red cat bear.
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Do you have a question about an animal's unusual anatomy Click here to ask.
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by Lisa Cardy
