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Question
#55953. picqero
asks:
I have often read that the digestive system of giant pandas is that of an omnivore, hence bamboo is not, by any means, their ideal diet. Why then are captive giant pandas not fed a diet more suited to their digestive system?
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Baloo55th
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Probably because the pandas, being vegans, won't touch anything else but bamboo. Some ancestral panda committee must have decided that bamboo was the way forward, and they've stuck to it ever since. But seriously, they are really bears (the black and white disguises them and makes them look cuddly, which they ain't!) and they do eat one per cent of other stuff - including some meat. Look here for a list of what zoos give them:  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/PandaFacts/default.cfm
Mar 15 05, 6:15 AM
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picqero
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Thanks for the interesting reference, according to which the panda digestive system is not even that of an omnivore, as I'd incorrectly believed, but a carnivore! Thev site also states that captive giant pandas are fed a mixed diet, but I'm sure I've read reports of them being fed bamboo in western zoos, which is possibly the most illogical food of all. I reckon you're absolutely right about the 'panda dietary committee!
Mar 15 05, 6:37 AM
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Halcyon91
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but the pandas aren't dying, so it's ok?
Mar 15 05, 2:04 PM
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picqero
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They aren't breeding either - at least not enough to ensure their survival as a species.
Mar 15 05, 5:11 PM
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gmackematix
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Also pandas have been known to eat eggs and do inevitably eat some insects with their bamboo.
Mar 15 05, 6:51 PM
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Halcyon91
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should we do something about it?
Mar 16 05, 1:59 PM
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