The Tree Eater

2017-10-19

If you ask “what pandas eat”, there will be a chorus of answers - bamboo. Actually, in our impression, pandas only eat bamboo, their most favorite food. But do you know, besides bamboo, the panda occasionally tastes some different food. Let me show you some pandas eating trees instead of bamboo!

 

 

 

 

Just as the panda Si Yi shown in the video, besides bamboo, pandas try to taste branches sometimes. Is it a rare sight?

 


Xiao Qiao, “Look at what I’m eating! It’s totally different!”

 


Xiao Qiao, “It's a small branch!”

 

In fact, eating branches is just a piece of cake for giant pandas. They peel off the hard bark in the same way as they do to bamboo stalks and only taste the tenderest part.

 

Besides branches, some plant leaves are the occasional options for pandas. If I can, I really want to interview pandas, which one is better, leaves or bamboo?

 


Qing Xiao, “Guess what I'm eating?”

 


Qing Xiao, “Leaves! Did you get the right answer?”

 

In fact, eating branches is not accidental for giant pandas. Giant pandas have a wide range of food according to field investigation and related literature. In nature, there are at least 110 kinds of edible food, including 59 kinds of bamboo, and about 55 other kinds of food. Besides branches and leaves shown above, any of various other species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and other non - bamboo and animal foods are also their occasional options. Therefore, it is not surprising that giant pandas feed on something else besides bamboo, and it is not strange that we see giant pandas eating trees.