Intriguing Giant Panda Mysteries Essay Example for Free

Intriguing colossus Panda Mysteries EssayWhile most adore their fluffy fur and round heads, which help blow over them their cuddly bear quality, others are fascinated by the many mysteries of the goliath giant panda. Did you know that the giant panda may actually be a raccoon, they have an apposable pseudo thumb, and that theyre technically a carnivore even though their diet is primarily vegetarian? These things and more have baffled scientists and naturalists for hundreds of years. Opposable Pseudo tackA characteristic of the giant panda that has mystified scientists is their movable, elongated wrist b wholeness that acts like an opposable thumb. This human-like quality that helps give them even more of a cuddly-bear appearance enables the giant panda to pick up objects and even eat sitting up.Quick Fact titan pandas have five clawed toes and one pseudo thumb. Their pseudo thumb, along with pads of skin, help the giant panda strip the more nutritious secondary bamboo sh oots and leaves while holding the stalk in their mouth. Small Bear or Large Raccoon?Giant pandas are generally referred to as bears and are typically called panda bears rather than giant pandas. Though we may think they look like bears, there has been a great deal of discussion for decades about where giant pandas actually fit in the animal kingdom. Much of the debate has been whether they are more closely cerebrate to the red panda, once thought to be a member of the raccoon family, than the bear family. While a giant panda has a body that resembles a small bear and climbs trees like a bear, it in like manner has several characteristics in common with the red panda. For example, both giant pandas and red pandas eat bamboo and have the aforementioned(prenominal) pseudo thumb. The table below lists the main characteristics the giant panda shares with bears and red pandas.Panda FactsResearchers have tardily discovered that the gene responsible for tasting savoury or umami flavours , such as meat, is inactive in giant pandas. For many centuries, giant pandas were thought to be a mythical creature, similar to a flying dragon or unicorn. Unlike other bears in the region, giant pandas dont hibernate. Giant pandas can comport erect on their hind legs but rarely walk. The Qinling panda, another giant panda species with a sullen brown and light brown coat, lives only in the mountains of Shaanxi. Giant pandas have very sensitive tryout and smell, but they have poor eyesight. A newborn giant panda is blind and looks like a t