Quiz on Pandas

What food makes up almost the entire diet of giant pandas?

• Bamboo ✓ (Correct answer)
• Eucalyptus
• Sugarcane
• Tall grasses

Source: Pandas eat bamboo for up to 14 hours a day, yet their gut is built like a meat-eater's.

On which continent do giant pandas live in the wild?

• Asia ✓ (Correct answer)
• Africa
• South America
• Australia

Source: Wild giant pandas survive only in a few mountain ranges of central China.

What two colors make up a giant panda's famous coat?

• Black and white ✓ (Correct answer)
• Brown and cream
• Grey and white
• Black and tan

Source: The bold black-and-white pattern may help pandas camouflage in both snowy and shady terrain.

Which country uses the giant panda as a tool of diplomacy?

• China ✓ (Correct answer)
• Japan
• India
• Nepal

Source: "Panda diplomacy" sees China loan pandas abroad, and every cub born overseas legally belongs to China.

What conservation organization uses a panda as its logo?

• WWF ✓ (Correct answer)
• Greenpeace
• Sierra Club
• The Nature Trust

Source: The panda logo was inspired by Chi Chi, a real panda living in London Zoo in 1961.

How big is a newborn giant panda compared to its mother?

• Tiny, like a stick of butter ✓ (Correct answer)
• About the size of a cat
• Roughly a small dog
• Nearly half her size

Source: A panda cub weighs about 100 grams at birth, around 1/900th of its mother's weight.

Which smaller animal also carries the name 'panda'?

• Red panda ✓ (Correct answer)
• Spectacled bear
• Ring-tailed lemur
• Sun bear

Source: The red panda was named decades before the giant panda, yet the two aren't close relatives.

What 'extra' feature on a panda's paw helps it grip bamboo?

• A pseudo-thumb ✓ (Correct answer)
• An extra claw
• A webbed pad
• A double knuckle

Source: A pandas' "thumb" is actually an enlarged wrist bone, not a real digit at all.

What is the main reason giant pandas became endangered?

• Habitat loss ✓ (Correct answer)
• Overhunting for fur
• Disease outbreaks
• Climate cooling

Source: Shrinking bamboo forests, not poaching, drove pandas toward extinction in the 20th century.

Roughly how heavy can an adult giant panda grow?

• Over 100 kilograms ✓ (Correct answer)
• About 30 kilograms
• Around 250 kilograms
• Nearly 500 kilograms

Source: Despite a bamboo-only diet, males can top 100 kg, as heavy as a grown man.

Because bamboo is so poor in nutrients, what behavior do pandas rely on?

• Conserving energy ✓ (Correct answer)
• Long hibernation
• Storing fat reserves
• Eating at night only

Source: Pandas move slowly and avoid steep climbs, an energy-saving lifestyle forced by their low-calorie food.

Which family of mammals do giant pandas actually belong to?

• Bears ✓ (Correct answer)
• Raccoons
• Big cats
• Civets

Source: DNA testing settled a century-long debate: pandas are true bears, while red pandas are not.

How long is a female giant panda fertile each year?

• A few days ✓ (Correct answer)
• About one month
• Roughly three months
• Half the year

Source: Females can conceive only 2-3 days a year, a key reason panda breeding is so difficult.

Where in the wild do giant pandas typically build their dens?

• Hollow trees ✓ (Correct answer)
• Riverbanks
• Open caves
• Rock crevices

Source: Mothers nest inside hollow tree trunks or rock cavities to shelter their fragile newborns.

What is the official Chinese term that translates to 'bear cat'?

• Daxiongmao
• Xiongmao ✓ (Correct answer)
• Mao bao
• Panda xiong

Source: The Chinese name literally means "bear cat," reflecting the panda's cat-like eyes and bear-like body.

What unusual technique do panda mothers often manage with twins?

• Raising only one cub ✓ (Correct answer)
• Nursing both equally
• Carrying both at once
• Leaving both in a den

Source: Mothers usually abandon the weaker twin, so zoos secretly swap cubs to keep both alive.

What color is a giant panda's skin underneath its fur?

• Pink ✓ (Correct answer)
• Black
• Grey
• Spotted

Source: Under the black patches the skin is dark, but under white fur the panda's skin is pink.

What odd object did early Western scientists first study to identify the panda?

• A pelt and skull ✓ (Correct answer)
• A live cub
• A photograph
• A cave painting

Source: A French missionary sent a panda pelt to Paris in 1869, the West's first proof the animal existed.

What body feature helps giant pandas crush tough bamboo stalks?

• Enlarged jaw muscles ✓ (Correct answer)
• An extra stomach
• Hardened gums
• A gizzard

Source: Massive jaw muscles and broad molars let pandas grind bamboo that would wear down most animals' teeth.

What was the conservation status change announced for giant pandas in 2016?

• Endangered to vulnerable ✓ (Correct answer)
• Vulnerable to safe
• Threatened to recovered
• Critical to endangered

Source: Decades of forest protection downgraded the panda from "endangered" to merely "vulnerable."