We Like Panda

Panda, as rarest animal in the world is usually called panda by us. It is very rare, so it is regarded as first class national protected animal. There are two colors on its body. It is named as "China's national treasure". Panda is a unique animal in China. It belongs to Ursidae. Panda's habitats are Sichuan Province and Shanxi Province in China. Nowadays, approximately 1590 feral pandas live in our world. A grown panda can grow 120 to 190 centimeters. Its body weight can reach 85 to 125 kilograms. They eat bamboo to live. People like pandas because of their lovable appearance. When the World Wildlife Fund was established, panda was used as this organization's mark. It has become a definite mark on animal's protection. When we deal with foreign affairs, we often see it as a symbol of friendship.
Panda's ancestor is Ailuaractos lufengensis. Ailuropus is panda's scientific name. That means that it is a bear, but it is similar with cat. That is to say, essentially it is a bear, but it looks like a cat. Strictly speaking, "panda" is a wrong word. About the word "panda", let us see a story. Before liberation, Chongqing's Beibei Museum exhibited the specimen of Ailuropus. On the board, there was a word "Ailuropus". However, people read the headline of newspaper from right to left. So the reporters read this word as panda rather than Ailuropus. From then on, this word spread through the media. People could not rectify this mistake, so they accepted this name. From then on, they call it "panda". Panda's forefather is alike to bear's, so scientists decide to call it "Ailuropus". Both of them belong to carnivore.
Panda's fossil shows that its ancestors appeared in 2 to 3 million years ago. That was pluvial early period. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was heyday of panda. It is a part of stegodon biota. Panda's habitats covered the most parts of China's east and south. These habitats included the parts between Beijing and Burma's south and Vietnam's north. People discovered panda's fossils in temperate rain forest or subtropical rainforest, whose height is 500 to 700 meters. Later, other animals disappeared. But pandas still exist now and they keep all the old features. These fossils have much scientific value, so these are regarded as "living fossils". We like to treat them as our national treasures. But there are only a few places that pandas can perch. People see the changes of their habitats in modern times. In recent hundreds of years, our population increased sharply and we occupied land, so many habitats disappeared. Before, pandas lived in river valley, but now people are living there. Bamboos grow in the areas, whose heights are between 1200 to 3400 meters. So pandas must live there. Now, our government has taken a series of effective measures to protect these endangered living fossils. Pandas' survival and downfall have attracted the public's attention. From now on, protecting pandas and their breeding are especially important. So we should find other habitats for them which are suitable to them. We can create a good living environment for pandas.