This postcard is cuteness overload!
Ed Liu from China sent me this cute postcard with an adorable panda aloft a tree and looking back at you with those big black eyes and fat cheeks!
Everyone adores the giant pandas - they are so cute and cuddly we all want them as pets. They are very playful and curious, especially when they're young. But did you know that they can bleat, roar, growl and honk? Yes, apparently, they do, just like their other bear relatives.
Scientists are not exactly sure how the pandas got it's black and white colour. One idea, according to the San Diego Zoo website, is that the broad blockings of contrasting color helps to camouflage the panda in the bamboo or treetops. In other words, looking for a panda or a panda cub up in the tree could be very difficult one has to use a binocular to spot one.
The giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family found only in China and it is among the world's most threatened species. Habitat loss and illegal trade of wildlife are two of the factors that threaten the giant panda population.
According to the international conservation organisation WWF - World Wildlife Fund for Nature - they have counted only 1,600 giant pandas in the wilds in 2004. Researchers and conservationists at the WWF are making great strides in order to save these creatures from extinction. They go into the jungles for days on end, studying the panda's habitat and observing their behaviour to be able to come up with a practical strategies on how to save them. Let's hope they don't run out of time... we certainly don't want to lose the gentle and playful pandas.
