The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing more than 3,500 animals of more than 800 species and subspecies. Tourists, and Red Pandas … Bamboo accounts for over 99 percent of the giant pandas' diet, though they sometimes hunt for pikas and other small rodents. Mating season lasts from March to May. It is characterised by large, black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Diet and Behavior . Although pandas belong to the class carnivora, these species diet is largely composed of bamboo. Giant pandas are highly specialized in terms of their diet. 2: a large black-and-white mammal (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of chiefly central China that feeds primarily on bamboo shoots and is now usually classified with the bears (family Ursidae) — called also giant panda Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Global, is one of the largest [better source needed] zoological membership associations in the world, with more than 250,000 member households and 130,000 child memberships, representing more than a half million people. The eastern gorilla, the world's largest primate, is now endangered. Bennett's wallaby; The Toronto Zoo, for example, pays $2.5 million per year, while the Atlanta Zoo pays $1.1 million for two pandas and another $800,000 rental fee for the birth of the two cubs. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. The remaining parts of a panda’s body are white. Panda Fact #1: Pandas have huge growth spurts. Pandas play a crucial role in China's bamboo forests by spreading seeds and helping the vegetation to grow. Pandas grow from tiny to massive in a few short years. Most notable among these is the pseudothumb of the giant panda, which has long been considered one of the most extraordinary examples of contingent evolution. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca; Chinese: 大熊猫; pinyin: dàxióngmāo), also known as the panda bear or simply the panda, is a bear native to south central China. Accessory digits have evolved independently within several mammalian lineages. More animals at Small Mammal House. Since bamboo is a poor source of nutrition, the bears must make up for this by consuming vast amounts of the plant. Panda definition is - red panda. Giant pandas are solitary creatures except during the mating season and when rearing a cub. During breeding, female pandas may mate with several males. That makes them the only non-primate species known to be able to taste aspartame, an ability previously thought unique to Old World monkeys, apes, and humans. The panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a type of bear clearly distinguished from other bears by its characteristic large, black patches around the ears, eyes and across the body. A small primate species native only to Madagascar, red-ruffed lemurs live in just one protected area and are critically endangered. [ Panda grunts ] Giant pandas are bears, relatives of grizzlies, black, and polar bears. Pandas are loaned in pairs from China for 10 years ranging anywhere from one to two+ million dollars per year, according to this AlJazeera.com infographic.. Efforts by China, which claims the giant panda as its national animal, have brought its numbers back from the brink. Habitat We're also providing a lifeline for a host of other endangered animals, including the golden snub-nosed monkey, takin and crested ibis that share these magnificent forests with the panda. How much does a panda cost? But, surprisingly, pandas don't hibernate, even though the temperature can drop to 30 degrees below freezing. And it's not only these unique forests that benefit. Adopt a red panda to give the perfect gift to the animal lover in your life — even if that animal lover is you! The birthing season occurs from August to September, and while one or two cubs may be born, the mother will only raise one. To date, no primate has been documented to possess such an adaptation.