Bibliography; These cute, lazy creatures have more reasons to live than there. You may be wondering, “Why should the panda bear live?” » Or…… “What are they for here on earth? In reality, the giant panda is essential to our environment; this is due to the role they play in bamboo forests. They wander around and spread seeds that facilitate the growth of vegetables that other vegetarian animals eat. Giant pandas are not the only ones to live in this same forest either. In the Yangtze River Basin where giant pandas live, the same forest is home to an astonishing amount of other surprisingly rare wildlife. This proves that they have a very good reason for being here on earth, they not only provide for the needs of other vegetarian animals in the forest, but they also provide for humans. Giant pandas are 99% vegetarian; in fact, besides bamboo, they only eat small rodents and birds. They follow a diet called omnivorous. They are also carnivores and are part of the Ursidae family. Their scientific name is "Ailuropoda Melanoleuca", ailuropoda meaning "cat's paws" and melanoleuca meaning "the large black and white species". For a long time, scientists didn't know if giant pandas were bears. Indeed, pandas grasp bamboo stems with their five fingers and a special wrist bone. They use their teeth to peel away the tough outer layers of the bamboo stem to reveal the soft inner tissues. They also eat the leaves. At birth, giant pandas are only about the size of a stick of butter. They are hairless and helpless. The mother panda takes great care of her little cub, usually cradling it in one paw and holding it close to her chest. For several days after birth, the mother does not leave the den, even to eat or drink! While... middle of paper ... described as a bleating similar to that of a goat. How can you help? Humans hunt them illegally and they take their food sources for their own purposes. Humans have more to do with their extinction than most realize, like when we travel to exotic places. By doing this, we are most likely disturbing an animal's home. Being in a controlled environment is very different from being in a cage, they are filled with other members of their species and most of the time are left alone. This will help them reproduce and we can monitor them closely to protect them from danger. Other ways to help, donate to the charity WWF, you can also adopt a panda. There is very little that can be done to save these endangered animals. Also due to the fact that panda tourism is reaching an uncontrollable level, professionals advise tourists to travel smart and be careful not to invade wild pandas..