Why are pandas so big? Is it there organs and skeleton that are big or are they fat?

Question

Stupid question but are they fat or is it something that caanot be changed? Could they get smaller?

Answer 1

i would imagine it could have something to do with protecting it from the cold. it gets d**n freezing in winter in china, especially in the mountains.

Answer 2

it is partially skeletal, they are large animals. There is some truth to the fat comment above. Panda's diets consist largely of vegetation, mostly bamboo, even in the wild. Plants are composed of cellulose, which is not broken down by the body, and therefore, cannot be used for energy conversions. Without the energy needed, pandas cannot be highly active animals (which is enhanced by their size), without activity, the caloric intake is converted to fat. Therefore, both are true, they are hefty animals on a large skeleton.

Answer 3

theyre just fat! they eat alot!

Answer 4

The reason is much the same as for gorillas and many leaf-eating monkeys. The quality of their diet (i.e. bamboo, in the case of pandas) is so low they need to take in large amounts and so they have a large stomach to cope with this. Also, such plant material is hard to digest (indeed, herbivores enlist gut micro-organisms to help with the job) and so the food passes more slowly through the digestive system than is the case for, say, a carnivorous tiger.

If pandas became omnivorous, like their ancestors, then (stomach) size reduction would probably follow.

Beautiful, aren't they? Ever seen the size of a new-born giant panda?

Answer 5

its the way they r built, so yes its their organs and skeleton. and its because their size suites their natural environment. they could get smaller over a number of generations if their environment was to change if they r fairly quick to adapt.