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01
Loving their junk food
Pandas eat an absolutely wild amount of bamboo per day--and almost nothing else. They have to, because bamboo has very little nutrition so they must eat a ton of it to get enough nutrients to live. They have special teeth and a reinforced jaw that help them munch away on the hard stocks. Some scientists also believe that pandas get a dopamine hit when they eat bamboo, kind of like we do when we eat sugar or fat. So pandas basically eat pounds and pounds of junk food all the time…what a life!
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02
The laziest breeders
We're actually just about to enter the peak panda breeding season, which only lasts a few weeks a year. That might be okay--but as it turns out, each female is only in heat for between 24-72 hours a year. That's part of why it's so hard for pandas to mate--most of the time, they just can't be bothered. And with so much of their time spent consuming enough bamboo to live, who can blame them? Luckily, scientists are learning more and having more success with keeping the species going.
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03
Pandas are introverts
Pandas communicate by vocalizing, but also by marking where they've been by clawing trees and…uh… spraying urine (yeah, really). However, pandas are generally solitary and don't interact very much with other pandas. Babies stay with their mothers for longer than other species because they need lots more milk than others to grow big and strong (since bamboo has so few nutrients).
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04
Panda facepalm
Pandas are revered the world over--so much so that one of their natural habitats, a series of sanctuaries in Sichuan, China, was declared an UNESCO World Heritage site! Their population seems to be rising and in 2016 they were taken off the "endangered" list and moved to the "vulnerable species" category.
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05
Red Panda hanging around
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06
Too tired to walk
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07
When you don't want mom to leave you at school
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08
Happy about some lunch!
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09
Sitting and monching with friends
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10
Playing in the snow
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11
Flopping after a hard day
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12
Just being a goof
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