Talk:Giant Panda

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[edit] Help with Posting Picture

I have a couple of recent photos of 2 very very cute TWIN baby pandas (100 days old).100 days old? I don't think soo--71.74.175.22 (talk) 01:28, 1 May 2008 (UTC)Insert non-formatted text here How do I post the photos?? I have photos tew! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikiwikipanda (talk • contribs) 04:55, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Headline text

JAMYZ VOSER DOES BIG FURRY ANIMALS EG SHEEP HE IS SO GAY HE LIKES DUDES UR GAY JAMYZ U SAY SHIT THAT ISNT REAL TO MAKE UR SELF FEEL BETTER UR A HOMO Say it's omnivorous and delete the rest. Since when is the panda a bear????its not a bear!!! bttw hi chris, i love u!!!

[edit] Picture

Tim - nice pictre Did you take this picture? It would be nice to have a comment on where/when it was. If not, it should have a real attribution. --Alan Millarhi test una poloma vlance

This is a fake of my little bro dressed up as a panda

I have a couple of recent photos of 2 very very cute twin baby pandas (100 days old). How do I post the photos? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikiwikipanda (talk • contribs) 04:50, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Translation of the week

There are a some occurrences of wordiness and odd English, for example 'is a favourite of the human public', but since it's locked, I can't edit it. Not sure what to do so I'll just post here. MN June 22, 2007

As I advised on the translation of the week pages: Please, rewrite the parti-coloured bear and Genma Saotome paragraphs. The meaning is not bovious to those who do not know it. Aliter 03:06, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

is the list of panda zoo locations up to date? --ShurTape 23:21, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I've rewritten the section on the naming of the Giant Panda, mainly to consolidate the information in one paragraph. Although it reads somewhat better than it did before, there is one important problem: its factuality. Could someone confirm that the Giant Panda was indeed known as the Mottled Bear or Parti-coloured Bear?

I've also tried to de-emphasise the Sinocentric nature of the article. We know that it has become a lovable symbol of the Chinese state, but is this reason for placing such emphasis on the Chinese name? (Can you find any other animals that get such treatment? The Tanuki was about the only one I could find). The listing of the Chinese name, and only the Chinese name, for the Red Panda is even more reprehensible as this animal is not found only in China.

panda isnt a chinese word. they call them xiong mao.

Bathrobe

[edit] Pandas in zoos

Madrid zoo will have two new pandas from September of this year. Can someone please update the information? http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/08/03/ciencia/1186136569.html

The two new pandas (Bing Xing, male age 7 and 150 Kg ; Hua Zui Ba, female age 4 and 90 Kg) are already in Madrid. They arrived in Madrid Zoo Aquarium on Monday 8th September 2007 from Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center (China). The two pandas have been lent to the zoo by Chinese Government with reproductive expectations. They are going to be showed to all the zoo visitors from next October 2007. Can someone please update the information? Thank you. User:Andresito 23:10, 09 Sep 2007 (UTC)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/08/europe/EU-GEN-Spain-China-Pandas.php

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_12360.shtml

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/09/08/ciencia/1189257347.html

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/09/09/ciencia/1189357911.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.179.2.125 (talk) 22:15, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

There is a Giant Panda at the Shanghai Zoo in China. I didn't see that one listed, so I thought I'd mention it here. I just returned from China last week. We were supposed to visit the panda facility in Chengdu, but because of the earthquake our tour group was diverted to Hong Kong and then to Shanghai, and visiting the panda at the Shanghai Zoo was supposed to make up for us having missed the pandas in Chengdu. At the Shanghai Zoo, there was one Giant Panda -- our tour guide didn't know his name, but she said that it was male and it was an older Panda (he was huge). I'm not sure why they didn't take us to see the four pandas in Hong Kong instead, except that admission to Ocean Park (where the Pandas are in Hong Kong) was probably more expensive than the Shanghai Zoo, which was undergoing a lot of construction when we were there. Skibbytidoodah (talk) 22:45, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Zoo links

Why does this page have a zoo links section? It doesn't seem to add much. I can't see a reason to select one zoo with a giant panda over any other. There might be an argument for a complete list of zoos with pandas, but it is not a very strong argument. I certainly wouldn't want to see it extended to every other page on large mamals. -- Solipsist 05:18, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'd argue that since there are only a few zoos that have giant pandas (due in large part to China's policies about shipping bears abroad and CITES) and those that do have pandas tend to have pretty good panda subsites with lots of information about the research being conducted with them, as well as panda cams and other geegaws, that the links here make sense. But you're right, there's no need for links to every zoo with a giraffe/elephant/lion/etc. Carter 22:49, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

To add to that, there's only a select number of Pandas found in zoos outside of China. So that's why the links are useful. Is that list comprehensive though... cuz some animals are on like 10 yr leases before they need to be returned to China. --Madchester June 28, 2005 21:12 (UTC)

It is all the U.S. zoos; Mexico City is missing, and the pandas in Japan and Hong Kong; I think there maybe one or two other European zoos that now have pandas, but I'm not certain. 29 June 2005 01:54 (UTC)

I've seen the Pandas in Hong Kong, but that's part of China anyway. --Madchester June 30, 2005 01:02 (UTC)

Well to some extent it was this edit by an anon, switching Zoo Atlanta for San Diego Zoo that prompted my interest. Perhaps the Panda had moved, or perhaps the anon was trying to promote one Zoo over the other. There was no edit summary so I don't know.

From the discussion above, I think it would be better to change this from a list of Zoos Links, to a comprehensive list of Pandas in Zoos, for example giving their name, age, gender, zoo, and loan status. -- Solipsist 30 June 2005 07:12 (UTC)

If it is something useful about pandas, it should be in. Why all the fuss - is there a shortage of pixels here ?!

There is a shortage of bandwidth, and Wikipedia is not a linkfarm. We try not to waste precious bandwidth with endless links to unnecessary pages. Skittle 10:36, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Carnivore? Herbivore?

Despite being taxonomically a carnivore, their diet is overwhelmingly herbivorous. They eat shoots and leaves, living almost entirely on bamboo. Pandas are also known to eat eggs and some insects along with their bamboo diet.

What is "taxonomically a carnivore"? Joyous June 30, 2005 02:12 (UTC)

It means the panda is classed under the order Carnivora. Mark ¹ 30 June 2005 05:07 (UTC)

Kudos to those who managed to sneak eats shoots and leaves into the text. Keep it this way. :) --Mzabaluev 13:32, 2 August 2005 (UTC)

Kind of a shame the commas were missing. Joyous (talk) 14:42, August 2, 2005 (UTC)

Funny. I was just on my way here to comment on the same hting. Bravo whoever managed it. Skittle 14:01, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Hah, I came in here to say the same thing! --Bluejay Young 18:51, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

I totally loved the fact this article snuck the "eats shoots and leaves" comment into the text, but I'm really sad it's not there anymore. 69.230.174.211 (talk) 05:12, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Whatever the technicalities or taxonomics, because Pandas eat both meat and plants they are omnivores not carnivores. The "taxonomically" just means Pandas are as Mark said, scientifically named a carnivore (Carnivora) because they can eat meat. Really, though, they're omnivorous because both meat and plants are a significant part of their diet. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/omnivorousTrillian627 16:11, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lots and lots of Pandas

I'm not really a part of this page, but I have to ask: Are you sure that there are 1,600,000,000 (1.6 billion, that is) pandas in the wild? and if so, why are they endangered? Just wanted to bring that up before some elementary school kid uses this in his/her report.

That was a little piece of vandalism that's been reverted. Thanks for catching it. Joyous (talk) 17:23, August 3, 2005 (UTC)

lol, 1.6 billion?! thats quite the vandalism... that would mean that for every 4 humans, their is 1 panda. DurotarLord 21:22, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Panda names

Thee giant panda has had over 30,000 names in its lifetime Can someone get a source for this? --Adamrush 17:00, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

It's been changed again, to I think 300000,000 names in its lifetime. Why are people so lame? Mikeythetiger 07:22, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

"Bear cat" or "Cat Bear" - Perhaps the fact that in Taiwan, they sometimes read Chinese words from right to left is the cause for this confusion. Would someone from Taiwan comment on this? Teresaclin 19:46, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not from Taiwan but I understand "cat-bear" is correct. --Bluejay Young 23:36, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

In Honk Kong, its called "bear-cat". tess (talk) 01:29, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bamboo "hard to digest"

There has to be a better way of describing this. A diet staple shouldn't be described as "hard" to digest. It might be a low-nutrition diet, or it might be indigestible, but presumably, pandas aren't staying away from bamboo because of the effort involved.

Since a description of panda feces adds so little to an otherwise interesting article, I'm deleting it. Should someone want to put it back, may I suggest, "Their primary diet of bamboo is evident in their feces."

The original troublesome sentence was: "Pandas find bamboo hard to digest, which leads to their feces being green in color and full of undigested bamboo." RPellessier (Talk) 16:47, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Reproduction

"Mating is also a very noisy time, accompanied by moaning and squealing." Is this really necessary? It seems to me to be a rather gratuitous statement.

We should add some phrasing to describe the artificial insemination procedures currently being used to increase the numbers of pandas worldwide. Something to this effect: "...and zoologists have been successfully breeding pandas for worldwide zoos by using artificial insemination."

I think you need to exchange naked with furless.

Can anyone find out the average length of a Giant Panda's Penis? Just interested to see if anything along the lines of polar bears' penises shrinking having something to do with their decrease in population is related. 71.111.82.107 03:02, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

As long as where at it, can someone find out if female pandas give male pandas blowjobs? DurotarLord 21:24, 19 July 2007 (UTC) Ya thats right, im not ashamed... im signing this...

[edit] Merging

It was suggested at Butterstick that that article be merged into this one. I personally oppose this merge; I'll be removing the merge tag in a few days if nobody objects. No reason that one giant panda needs to be mentioned in this article, it would be America-centrism. Meelar (talk) 01:40, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Agreed, famous pandas can have their own articles :) Matthewmayer 17:40, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Agree. -- Миборовский ^{U|T|C|E|Chugoku Banzai!} 02:10, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Why dont people clone pandas? We have the technology. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.9.148.14 (talk) 17:20, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Natural enemies

What are the natural enemies of the panda? Is it the top of the food chain? Why could it 'degenerate' into this slow, highly unsuccesful at reproduction kind of creature it is?--Heidegger 04:17, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Effectively none. A tiger might take an odd one, but it would have to be a very brave tiger. Therein lies the problem; animals with few or no predators have adapted to have very low population increase rates, to avoid overpopulation. When a predator (man) does appear, it has no easy ability to recoup the losses. - MPF 23:12, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Leopards are the primary concern of young cubs. That's why they spend so much time in trees.... mom takes off o forage, the cub climbs, making it hard for leopards to pounce. Adult pandas have no natural predators. - suz 23:12, 12 january 2006 (UTC)

It's true that those skilled in Panda arousal techniques can earn significant sums of money - why has this been deleted?!!!

Cite your sources please. Boneheadmx 13:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Like almost, if not all other bears, it is the top of the food chain although their youngs can be vulnerable. HistoryManiac 17:21, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First Surviving Cubs in North America

It's true that Hua Mei and half-brother Mei Sheng were the first surviving giant panda cubs born in the US, after the series of 5 cubs of Ling-Ling/Hsing-Hsing that died shortly after birth. However, these San Diego pandas don't have the distinction of being North America's first surviving cubs; that honor belongs to the Chapultepec Zoo, whose three older females were all bred and born in Mexico in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Tohui was the first gigant panda born and survive in a zoo outside China. She (despite the name which means "boy" in Nahuatl -the Aztecs' language) born in Mexico City's Chapultepec zoo on July 21 1981 (reference can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981). Since then 8 gigant pandas have born in Chapultepec zoo, including "Xin Xin" who is a daughter of Tohui.

[edit] Binomial Name

Just wondering if anyone knows why the binomial name hasn't been changed to refelct the genetic findings that pandas are bears? Anyone know about the background of this? Is there a time-frame, still debate, or what? Jafafa Hots 06:30, 7 February 2006 (UTC)''''''''']]]

[edit] Is a panda a bear??

Suppose there were a poll of 1000 people for asking whether a panda is a bear (not just an animal that looks like a bear.) How close would it be to a 500-500 tie?? Georgia guy 01:29, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Most people would also call a koala a bear (when its actually a marsupial), and a hyena a dog. Doesn't make them right! Slow Graffiti 19:39, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Pandas and koalas are bears in English—whether or not they are in biology—the use of language not being one of those fields where logic and science are strictly applied. —Muke Tever talk (la.wiktionary) 12:17, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Since there is a scientific debate, at least according to this article, a section on the scientific debate would be called for. However, the classification bar on the side says that pandas are in urisidae, meaning that there is some scientific consensus that they are bears (urisidae is the bear family.) 160.94.183.213 18:00, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

Pandas are actually marsupials because they give birth to their young in a pouch, not live birth like bears.--Aeryck89 10:53, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Uhm, at the risk of responding to a troll, no they aren't and no they don't. Koalas are marsupials; Pandas are not. Pandas are bears; this has been established by DNA tests. (source: personal communication, Dr. David Powell, National Zoo, 2001) I'm editing "on-going" out of the main article. Carter 16:24, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Technically, Giant pandas are more related to the bear then the racoon, while red pandas are more related to the racoon then the bear

[edit] GA nomination

I've nominated this article for good article on sheer impulse since I personally think this is a great article. (Not that I know much about pandas to start with.) If this goes well maybe we could have a peer review on this thing and perhaps make it a FA? --deadkid_dk 09:29, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

I've just been reviewing the article after its GA nomination, and I think it is a very fine article - eminently readable and interesting. I haven't promoted it just yet though, because I wanted to make a suggestion about the pandas in popular culture section. I am really not a fan of these sections because I feel their encyclopaedic value is very low. Many of the items listed are extremely tangential, and there are probably thousands of things that could be listed. As a bulleted list it can't really be considered compelling prose. What I think is that the section should be converted into prose, discuss only four or five examples, and be a little bit more analytical of why pandas are popular things.

Also, the lead section could do with being a bit longer and summarising more of the article content. Worldtraveller 11:17, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, some scientists believe pandas are bears, while the rest think they are raccons because of their relatives, the red panda.

[edit] Omnivore?

I'm a little confused... The Bear article says that Bears are in the Order Carnivore, but this article says the Panda is in the Order Omnivore. Is one of the articles wrong? Phauge 15:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Good catch. I've corrected this. The Giant Panda does belong to the family Ursidae, which is certainly in the Order Carnivora, regardless of its diet. There is no order Omnivore or Omnivora. The error was made by 65.19.54.238 on March 15, 2005. - Slow Graffiti 05:12, 21 March 2006(UTC)

Thanks. Sorry I didn't sign in earlier. I'm no scientist, but something about Order Omnivore just didn't seem right. Phauge 15:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Subspecies

The article has information on two subspecies, including Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis which "is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi." Is there a source for this information? I ask not for justification, but actually out of my own curiousity. I'd like to read about this bear and see its color variation. Thanks! - Slow Graffiti 06:39, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind about that particular reference; I located the Journal of Mammalogy article listed in the references. Now...does anyone have a picture or another reference? - Slow Graffiti 06:52, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fact-checking

Is it really true that the binomial name was assigned before the genus? --zenohockey 03:04, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Usually that indicates that the appellative (I forget the exact term, but it's 'melanoleuca' in this case) was assigned to a different genus, and then moved into this one when it was created. I understand it is customary to credit the giver of the appellative for the binomial name as a whole. (But if I am wrong on this point, I am sure someone will correct me). —Muke Tever talk (la.wiktionary) 23:21, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Born blind and naked.

Like wow, no one could have ever figured this out! Thanks a lot article!

[edit] Endangered vs. Vulnerable

User:68.17.157.176 keeps changing the conservation status from Endangered to Vulnerable.

In 1984 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the giant panda as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Endangered means a species is considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. [1]

The lovable and charismatic panda is one of the most popular animals in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most endangered. [2]

An Endangered Species Profile: Giant Panda

Why are pandas endangered?

Jokestress 04:25, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you ask for but, in wikipedia the panda should be listed as Endangered, see Wikipedia:WikiProject_Tree_of_Life/taxobox_usage#Conservation status for where the data should be taken from IUCN and see [3] for their current classification which is EN B1+2c, C2a ver 2.3 (1994), where EN means Endangered. So you are correct and can revert back to endangered. Stefan 06:08, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. Note that same changes were made today by User:208.61.147.24. I reverted them. Jokestress 17:15, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Same changes were made today by User:68.17.131.53. I reverted them. Jokestress 16:46, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

It is my understanding that the population of Pandas has tripled in the past six months. Why is this not reflected in the article?

Can you provide a source? --- Hong Qi Gong 03:12, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

I think that this may be a prank imitating the recent episode of the Colbert Report where Colbert claimed to change the wiki page for "Elephant" to say that the elephant population has tripled. Someone changed the main page to claim that the panda population has tripled in the past 6 months, and given their slow rate of reproduction and the difficulty of reproduction in captivity, I find that to be basically impossible to be true.

Wait a minute, this doesn't have anything to do with the 16 baby pandas at Sichuan Wolong, does it? --Bluejay Young 18:54, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

im not a wikipedia member, but in 1974-1977, about 1100 wild pandas lived in Asia. In 1986, that number was reduced to a population of only about 700. I am doing a project of the panda, so i won't use alot of this info. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.255.183.63 (talk) 19:20, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

The official site of IUCN shows that the giant panda is an endangered species (Specialist Group 1996. Ailuropoda melanoleuca. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.). Better have the status changed.(218.102.66.227 (talk) 04:08, 31 May 2008 (UTC))

[edit] Coloration

I don't know anything about pandas, but I'm interested to know the evolutionary reason for their coloration. Perhaps a more knowledgeable editor can add this info to the article. Mrestko 08:21, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

there is an ancient folktale about a panda who was with a girl with her sheep. a wolf came and the panda ran away, and the girl died. the panda and his family went to her funeral and cried and wept so loud, they put their paws over their ears, covering them with permenent ashes. I am sure this is not true, but it is a very nice folktale. Note: i am not a wikipedia member. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.255.183.63 (talk) 19:22, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Controversy

The controversey section of this page seems more along the lines of vandalism than actual relavant information and should be deleted from the main article or be better explained and referenced (if this is a widespread belief)

Fixed, thanks. Henry ^Flower 08:57, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Population Update

I just read the National Geographic Magazine, July 2006 (http://www.ngm.com/0607). The article titled "Panda, Inc." says that at the end of 2005, there were 188 giant pandas in captivity, and a large number of healthy cubs delivered in 2005 have "pushed the captive population closer to a magic number: 300." The Wikipedia page says that the captive population is 100. Does this need to be updated?

[edit] Pop. Culture

Could mention that a panda is the logo for the enjoi skateboard company in the popular culture section.

WWF is World Wildlife Fund .. not whatever was there..

and Sanrio has "Pandapple" not pandaba

[edit] Reproduction changes

I've read in National Geographic that pandas being slow breeders is wrong. The magazine states that "studies have shown that wild pandas reproduce about as robustly as NA brown bears: On average, a wild female will have a cub every other year for some 15 years, adding 5-6 new pandas to the population over her lifetime" Please help to make more necessary changes as my English vocabulary is not that great although I've already made some changes to the section. HistoryManiac 16:56, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's something else I don't understand...if they reproduce quickly, why is their birthrate so low? It seems the article is a bit contradictory. Smooth0707

I think they have high infant death rates. They normally have twins, but in the wild usually one dies before or after birth.Thylacine lover 02:42, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 188 -> 300 in captivity?

I found the claim in the summary a little suspicious a growth in captive population of over a third in less than a year? So I checked the source. The National Geographic article says that the successful breeding has brought the population closer to the magic number of 300. 300 is a goal number that zoologists say will allow them to sustain the species in captivity if necessary. So while it's technically true that any increase brings the population closer to 300, having that in the summary is misleading. --Siobhan Hansa 14:20, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jo Ling

I cant find any other reference to JoLing living in Sydney. Can anybody confirm if the information is true or not? --218.215.128.231 12:12, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

This is almost certainly untrue. There are no other references and the last pandas to visit Australia (Melbourne in the 1990s from memory) were a major media event Ss11 14:03, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I've deleted it. If someone can find a reference it's easy enough to put back. The other contributions of the editor who added it User:Dkexpress, are equally obscure. --Siobhan Hansa 21:47, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] pandas are fish?

"is a fish classified in the tortoise family"

That's been fixed, thanks for pointing it out. Kappa 00:45, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Longest labour?

"after a record 35-hour labor."

"The whole process lasted about 34 hours and was the longest in the history of panda reproduction"

These are two different pandas. Which is it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Scraimer (talk • contribs) 06:18, 15 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Main picture

We need a close-up of that bastard as main pic. --PandaHunter 01:04, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The one there is very pixelated
- I have been bold, taken your suggestion, and uploaded a new, high quality picture of a panda that I took at the National Zoo in DC. It's not perfect but it's much better than the pixelated one that was there before. Per my comment below, however, I do not know the name of panda, as I am unable to ID which of the Zoo's pandas it is. Are there any experienced panda experts out there who can ID, so that the caption can include the panda's name? Thanks! ... Also, I moved the old picture of Hua Mei further down the page. --Asiir 11:48, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Purpose?

What purpose do they serve in their perspective ecosystem: what do they do that keeps balance in their ecosystem? I can think of no purpose -- surely they're important for something within their ecosystem.. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by FDD19 (talk • contribs) 02:50, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Why does every plant or animal require a purpose? What is the purpose of tribal people living inside the Amazon? Why do you think that everything needs to significantly make an impact on their environment? BTW are you a manager at a corporation? 66.171.76.176 18:52, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Not a manager at a corp. Nature usually has a reason for having creatures; Ants fungi flies etc to clean up dead animals/plants etc. Perhaps they can no longer fullfil their intended role and nature is running its course to their eventual extinction.

[edit] Diet

The article makes it sound as if the panda would rather eat meat just like other bears if it wasn't for the fact that they are too slow to catch prey. How does the author know that?

[edit] Deleted line

I deleted the following:

The only considered medical use was probably of panda urine, to melt needles accidentally swallowed in the throat.^{[citation needed]}

This didn't make sense and there was no citation. Maybe vandalism? --Atomicskier 17:01, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] please delete vandalism

I'm a noob to editing, and for some reason cannot see the following (under General Information) on the "edit" page:

Another appendage on the panda is very, very, very, very large and long...DO NOT GET CLOSE TO IT!!!

These people make me quite angry. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.225.174.82 (talk) 03:09, 5 January 2007 (UTC).

Recent vandalism, I feel, has made it necessary to enable protection. --ICECommander

[edit] Pop-culture pandas

Under the heading 'Pandas in popular culture' it is speculated that the incident with the drunken person trying to hug Gu Gu(the panda in Beijing) is related to the Pandaren in WarCraft. This is not true as WarCraft III - Frozen Throne was released in 2003(2004 in japan) and the incident i Beijing took place in september 2006([[4]]) Disregarding the possibility that Blizzard predicted this incident.

The animated television series 'Father of the Pride' also had two pandas as recurring characters. The female(and depressed) panda Foo-Lin and the male panda Nelson/Bong-Bong 193.130.97.35 13:04, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] are any pandas

bred from those that weren't part of the newer restrictive loan system (that made babies chinas property) and so actually owned by other countries still arround or are they all owned by china? Plugwash 02:40, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I think that this species of panda is extremly intresting and there should be more research done

[edit] Suggested merge for North American panda cubs

Does any one object to putting the details of the 3 new North American panda cubs in their respective pages, and decreasing the clutter here? Their pages already exist. --tess 22:50, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Tess, could you point us to the actual pages? In theory it sounds reasonable, but some of these more focused articles that have a significant amount of public interest have a tendency to overwhelm the more, erm, encyclopedic information in a broader article so I'd like to look at what they're currently like and what the activity level is before offering a specific opinion. Thanks. -- Siobhan Hansa 03:05, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Please see Mei Lan, Tai Shan (panda), and Su Lin. --tess 18:23, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Since there were no objections, I've done this. However, a prose account of efforts to breed pandas in North America might be more useful than the list I currently have. Chick Bowen 17:47, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Old Chinese Panda Myth in the Conservation Status Section

Specifically: In ancient China a myth was told to explain the peculiar colouring of the Giant Panda. It was written that the Panda was originally entirely white and that the black markings occured from staining from black clothes they had donned to mourn the shepherdess who had saved one of their kind from a wild animal. The pandas hugged and cried and the dye of their clothing ran down to make permanent markings on their fur.

Does this have ANYTHING to do with the conversation status? I will delete this soon if no one have any objections. Beside, it doesn't even have sources. Yongke 21:54, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Form 2 Project Not to be dumb or anything but I am doing a report for school on the panda and can someone please answer these questions for me? 1.What is the pandas natural habitat? 2.How does the panda protect itself from danger?

Thanks in advance

You may want to read the article.
It doesn't have predators, so far as I know, but in case of attack, it will lash out with its large claws.

bibliomaniac 1 5 04:10, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Panda identification

Being a photographer and not an animal expert, I have some pictures of pandas from the National Zoo in Washington, DC (including one on the Panda page), but I don't know which animal is which. Is there anyone who can ID them and add their names to the caption? Thanks. --Asiir 11:29, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pandas are not bears

Pandas are not bears

YES they are. http://www.greatbear.org/pandabear.htm ; http://www.bears.org/animals/panda/

[edit] Lease amount conflict

In one part of the article, we say the lease is $1M a year... in another it is $2M a year. Which one is right? Do we have references? brain 16:48, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why is "Panda" capitalized?

The canonical name for this article is "Giant_Panda", rather than "Giant_panda" (which redirects here), and in some places in the article, "Panda" is capitalized. Is there a reason for this? To the best of my knowledge, "panda" is not a proper noun. Webster's dictionary lists it under both "panda" and "giant panda"; there is no capitalized entry. Similarly for most web resources. I don't know offhand how to rename the article, but I'll investigate unless there's a reason for its capitalization.James A. Stewart 08:39, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Article should be renamed. We'll need an admin to help however since Giant panda is an already existing page, albeit it redirects to this one. hateless 22:28, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Although they are not proper nouns, it is a convention for the common names of species to be capitalized. --Ptcamn 22:38, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna)#Capitalization_of_common_names_of_species Graft | talk 23:24, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm confused. Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna)#Capitalization_of_common_names_of_species seems to contradict itself, by claiming you should use lowercase common names, listing a few common-sense exceptions (e.g. first word in a sentence), and then listing some examples of articles where both words in the species name are capitalized, such as Bald Eagle. I don't think it's that big a deal, so I'm not going to do anything about it, but if anyone can clarify further, please do so. There's still inconsistent use of "giant panda" vs. "Giant panda" vs. "Giant Panda" throughout the article as well, but I'm hesitant to change any of them until I can understand why they're not all "giant panda". James A. Stewart (talk) 22:33, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

The assertion in the article you refer to says official common names of birds are normally capitalised. Thus birds are treated exceptionally. Common names of non birds would usually not be capitalized. In this case "giant panda" should be uncapitalized, except at the start of a sentence where it would be "Giant panda".128.230.72.220 (talk) 20:43, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] I am confused about the number of pandas

on this website it sayes 3000 on another website it sayes 1000 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.184.123.208 (talk) 00:13, 9 May 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Living fossil

This line:

The giant panda is a living fossil.[7]

does source the claim, but the source provides no proof that the panda has, in fact, been around for millions of years: it just states it. Should it be removed? Oc t ane ^{[improve me]} 15.07.07 0323 (UTC)

[edit] Gray or White species of Panda

"AFP, Beijing - Chinese scientists exploring a natural reserve in the province of Shaanxi have discovered two previously unknown species of Panda, an animal threatened with extinction. Unlike the usual black and white checkered Panda bears, their fur is either gray or white. No information about the number of animals was given."

http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.panda.html

Anyone able to find any further information about this? --NeF 12:50, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reproduction contradiction?

-The conservation section and the reproduction section create some ambiguity in the panda's birthrate, procreated by the following quotations. "Giant pandas are an endangered species, threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very low birthrate" and "Contrary to popular belief, Giant pandas do not reproduce slowly" in the respective sections.

Maybe this can be made a little bit more clear?

The "Contrary to popular belief, Giant pandas do not reproduce slowly." should be removed as this is just someones opinion. Instead the birhtrate should be compared to other animals, like say a rabbit and a demestic cat. I think this would prove that the birthrate is low. Pandamad 02:56, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Giant Pandas

Why are pandas always pink when they are born? I understand that humans are also pink, but I still would like to know why? If you know please reply. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.187.85.198 (talk) 22:55:35, August 18, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New panda cub

Bai Yun at the San Diego Zoo had a fourth cub on August 3. The article mentions the Vienna cub born on August 23 but not this one. Gender is still unknown. The father is Gao Gao, slso father of her second and third cubs Mei Sheng and Su Lin. Meanwhile, Mei Sheng is due to leave the zoo and return to China in October under the terms of the loan agreement for the pandas. Debbzi 10:59, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Giant Panda

There is a line that simple says "The Giant Panda is amazing! LOL!". I fail to see how this contributes any useful knowledge to the article. It really ought to be removed entirely.

Myrikh 14:29, 12 September 2007 (UTC)Myrikh 12 September 2007

The vandalism has been reverted. Thanks! -- SiobhanHansa 15:38, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] SORT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now i am not very amused with the way this website is giving us the wrong infomation--------SORT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.242.202.72 (talk) 06:56, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

The giant panda is the unofficial mascot of the women's fraternity Alpha Omicron Pi. I think this would be an interesting addition to the "Panda's in Popular Culture" section. Denunehb 13:30, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "dane pwns at halo" probably doesn't belong in this article...

"dane pwns at halo" probably doesn't belong in this article, at the start of the 2nd paragraph under diet Chmielea 19:48, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

I removed it. Next time, be bold and remove vandalism yourself if you see it. bibliomaniac 1 5 20:27, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

thanks! i tried to edit it but my account was too new Chmielea 19:36, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Saveing the pandas

As we all know, panda bears are endangered. We all need to do something to save them. It doesnt matter if its sending letters to the wildlife, or writing a paper and showing it to people, we just need to do somthing to help them!

I love pandas. I hope knowbody hates them. I want to help any animal. WE HAVE TO SAVE THESE ANIMALS!!

signed, Grant or lovingheartforanimals —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lovingheartforanimals (talk • contribs) 01:25, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Links Broken

This article is locked for editing, but the external links are almost all out of date, this is dumb, it should take me half a second to rectify broken links, will any admin even see this message?Denito (talk) 12:54, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

It's only semi-protected so you don't need an admin, just a user who's been around for a short time. Looking at your edit history I believe you should be able to edit semi-protected articles. If you've tried and find you can't, list which links are broken and what they should be replaced with and I can make the changes on your behalf. -- SiobhanHansa 18:33, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

i really love pandas —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.237.183.207 (talk) 21:17, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Taxonomic history

I think there should be a subsection covering this aspect. For many years it was widely debated if the panda was a bear or a procyonid (relative of raccoons) and it even occupied its own family -Ailuropodidae- at some point. The red panda has followed a similar histry. Finally, DNA tests and other genetic technologies proved that the giant panda is indeed a bear, and the red panda a procyonid - the only procyonis that lives today outside the Americas in natural form. I lack the sources or the time to include this in a good shape. Can somebody write about it?--Menah the Great (talk) 16:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Is this Article Locked?

The Edit this page tab isn't showing up for me, but it doesn't say that the article is locked either. What's going on?206.174.3.88 (talk) 09:11, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

The article is protected from editing by new and unregistered editors. If you register account you should be able to edit in within a few days. Or else you can use to {{editprotected}} template on this page and an admin will make the edit on your behalf. Rockpocket 09:15, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pandas living outside of China

You say there are 27 panda's living outside of china, but if you count whats on your site there actually 36. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.62.228.113 (talk) 01:59, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pandas and Chinese law

Shouldn't there be more info regarding China's laws on pandas, eg, capital punishment on panda poaching, and the ban of dipicting panda deaths in video games?--PCPP (talk) 02:12, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

== Adventure World information is outdated == edit protected

Adventure World, Shirahama, Wakayama - Eimei (M), Meimei (F), Rauhin (F), Kouhin (M), Aihin (F) and Meihin (M). Yu Hin (M) went to China in 2004. Ryu Hin and Syu Hin (male twins) went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China in October 2007. In December 2006, twin cubs Aihin and Meihin were born to Ei Mei and Mei Mei. Pandapoly (talk) 20:44, 6 March 2008 (UTC) pandapoly

[edit] Cubs "returned" to China

The article states that panda cubs born in the U.S. were "returned" to china. Since the panda cubs were never previously in china (regardless of the fact that they are chinese property), returned does not seem to convey the correct action. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.246.59.61 (talk) 08:58, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

could you think of a better word? :\ 124.13.241.52 (talk) 08:31, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

"returned" is the right word. Imagine your mother is working overseas and she gives birth to your brother there, it'd be fair to say that one day your mother and your new born brother will return to their home country. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Reyn116 (talk • contribs) 14:48, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

It's a loan. Here is a NYT article that describes the arrangement. Obviously, China thinks US is rich, since they charge US zoos like 6-7 times what they charge Thailand zoos. --Voidvector (talk) 00:23, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

US is rich compared to Thailand. --70.128.119.10 (talk) 09:55, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

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