Why do panda's eat bamboo?

Question

i mean, panda bear's are bears. and they look as though they are built like other bears (sharp teeth, claws, really strong) they look like carnivores, why do they eat bamboo? is it super nutritious or does the panda have a different digestive system?

Answer 1

Good question.

A giant panda’s digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore but for some reason (somewhere along the line) they have adapted to a vegetarian diet. Bamboo comprises 99% of their diet (they have also been known to eat fish, pika, rodents etc) and they only digest about 20% of the bamboo they ingest (in comparison, herbivores like cattle digest about 60% of their food). Because bamboo does not provide much nutrition, a panda needs to eat a large amount of food. It may eat up to 20 kg of bamboo each day to get all the nutrients it needs.

And yes, giant pandas are currently classified as bears.

Answer 2

becuase it easy for them to get so they dont have to go out of there way

Answer 3

I think part of it has to do with the fact that NO OTHER animal can eat bamboo. So they won't have any competition for food.

The panda evolved an extra thumb just so it could eat bamboo (no other animal has this adaptation)--and it has served them well for thousands of years.

By the way, pandas are closely related to raccoons :-)

Answer 4

<<i mean, panda bear's are bears.>>

Actually, no.  Pandas aren't bears.

Update: Checking various sources, I now appear to be wrong.  Giant pandas have been referred to the bear family of Ursidae.  For example, page 251 of: McKenna MC & Bell SK (1997), Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level, Columbia University Press.

<<and they look as though they are built like other bears (sharp teeth, claws, really strong) they look like carnivores, why do they eat bamboo?>>

They're carnivorans and related to bears, among others.  Their ancestors found themselves capable of exploiting an otherwise little used foodstuff and, over the generations, proto-pandas became adapted for that particular diet.

<<is it super nutritious or does the panda have a different digestive system?>>

As with all grasses (excepting for seeds), its food value is lousy.  However, as there's one heck of a lot of it (and not many competitors in the case of pandas), it's in plentiful supply.  The trick is to eat a massive amount of the stuff, and that's what pandas are now adapted to do.

What leaves them endangered is loss of habitat due to the weird activities of derived apes called humans.  Pandas need extensive areas of continual forest.  The derived primates need land.

Update

<<I wanna say they're a type of marsupial but I'm not sure.>>

You're right not to have said it.  Pandas are placental mammals in the order of Carnivora along with bears, weasels, dogs, cats, seals, otters and others.  China has no native marsupials.

Answer 5

Because they think it's yummy.

Answer 6

Good question.

Bamboo is extremely abundant where most Pandas live. Their teeth need to be sharp to cut through bamboo which is a very tough plant.

To answer the claw part of the question, there are documentaries, pictures, etc. that show Pandas in trees. Their claws would help the climb to these locations.

As far as digestive systems go, their internal organs are more similar to other meat-eating animals than herbivores.

Hope this helped.

Answer 7

I can't help it == because peanut butter sticks to the roof of it's mouth?

Answer 8

While pandas are bears, bears in general are omnivorous(they eat both plants and meat).  The panda may be associated with bamboo but they do eat fish and other foods, including fruits when available.  Bamboo is eaten because it is prominent in their habitat. Their digestive system is the same as any other carnivore some protein is derived from the bamboo, but not enough which affects the behavior of the panda.

Answer 9

It gives them liquids and stay healthy.