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Body
The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has
black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the
animal's coat is white. 5
Habitat
Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in south-central China, in Sichuan,
Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming,
forest clearing, and other developments now restrict giant pandas to the
mountains. There are only about a thousand still living in the wild and a few 10
are kept in zoos.
Text A, part 2
Millions of zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats
while sitting upright, in a pose that resembles how humans sit on the floor. 15
Nearly everything a panda eats is bamboo. They eat up to 18 kg of bamboo a
day. They spend over 12 hours a day eating bamboo.
Lifespan
Scientists are not sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure
it is shorter than lifespans in zoos. They estimate that the lifespan is about 15-20 20
years for wild pandas and about 30 years for those in human care. Chinese
scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35.
ENG/P1/INS/Review