Hobbies And Interests
Coloration
All giant pandas are born pure white and then develop their characteristic black markings when they are 4 weeks old. Pandas have back eye circles, black legs, black forequarters and black ears. This contrasts vividly with their white faces and hind quarters. It is unknown why giant pandas evolved such bizarre coloration. Perhaps up in the treetops of a thick bamboo forest, the pandas blended in with dappled shadows and spots of light.
Size
Panda cubs are born weighing only 5 oz. and are as long as a stick of butter. They are born so small because of the giant panda's nutrient-poor diet. Females often give birth to twins or triplets, but only one cub survives. Male giant pandas grow larger and heavier than females. Males can be 5 feet tall when they stand on their hind legs and weigh up to 300 lbs. Females only tip the scales at 220 lbs. and may grow as small as 2 feet high.
The Panda's Thumb
Giant pandas appear to have six claws on their forepaws -- five "fingers" and one long immobile pad that appears somewhat like a human thumb. However, this is not a mobile thumb like people have. Rather, its an elongated sesimoid bone or wrist bone. Over the millennia of eating bamboo, pandas grew this stub to help hold onto bamboo shoots easier. Other species of bears also have small, unobtrusive sesimoid bones at the base of their claws.
Fun Fact
Pandas always have one facial expression. Because their jaws are so powerful and need to keep eating 12 hours a day, their muscles are devoted to working the jaws, and the bears lost the ability to change facial expressions or move their ears or lips. Pandas can blink and open their mouths, and that's all, according to "Giant Pandas."