Archive for September, 2008
Giant Panda in China
huiya asked:
Before you come to China, you may hear of China’s national treasure: Giant Panda. Visitors to China can see this endangered animal in the zoos of the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, etc. If you want to have a very close look at the plump and lovely animal, you should better go to the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Chengdu. Here you will view them eating, sleeping or playing which bring you great pleasure and delights.
Giant Pandas look like bear and have thick black and white fur with short tail. Their ears, legs, shoulders and fur around their eyes are black. The rest of the fur on their body is white.
Giant Pandas have good eyesight. They have strong jaws and teeth for chewing tough food. They have special bones like thumbs to help them holding their food.
Where do they live?
Giant Pandas only live in six small areas in China. They live in the mountain areas around the center and southwest of the country. They live high up in the mountains, in cool forests full of bamboo plants. The famous Chengdu Breeding Giant Panda Research is located on the mountain of Fu Tou. There are clouds, rain and mist throughout the year.
What do they eat?
Giant pandas are considered carnivores, but 99% of their food consists of bamboo. They prefer bamboo shoots. Since bamboo is low in nutrition, Giant Panda has to eat for 10 to 16 hours a day to stay fit and healthy.
Giant Panda’s Life Span
Giant Pandas are very shy and like to live alone. The males and females only meet in late spring or early summer to mate. Three to five months later the female may give birth to one or two babies, called cubs, in a den in the ground. Usually only one of the cubs will live to become fully grown.
When giant panda cubs are born, they are very small and helpless. They cannot see and have little fur. The cubs drink their mother’s milk for about six months. The cubs grow quite slowly. They can move around after three months. After about a year, they will go to live on their own. Giant Pandas live between 17 and 20 years in the wild.
How many wild giant pandas live now?
One hundred years ago there were large numbers of giant pandas in China. Now there are less than 700 of them in the wild, even though they were protected by law. Nowadays the giant pandas in China live mainly in 13 special protected areas, called reserves. The pandas can live safely in the reserves because people cannot hunt them.
Why the Giant Panda are in danger?
Giant pandas are in danger because their habitat is being destroyed. Forest areas are being cut down to make room for homes and factories. The trees are sold as wood for building and furniture.
Sometimes the bamboo plants come into flower which means that the pandas don’t have food and they have to move out of their home to find food instead of starving.
Before you come to China, you may hear of China’s national treasure: Giant Panda. Visitors to China can see this endangered animal in the zoos of the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, etc. If you want to have a very close look at the plump and lovely animal, you should better go to the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Chengdu. Here you will view them eating, sleeping or playing which bring you great pleasure and delights.
Giant Pandas look like bear and have thick black and white fur with short tail. Their ears, legs, shoulders and fur around their eyes are black. The rest of the fur on their body is white.
Giant Pandas have good eyesight. They have strong jaws and teeth for chewing tough food. They have special bones like thumbs to help them holding their food.
Where do they live?
Giant Pandas only live in six small areas in China. They live in the mountain areas around the center and southwest of the country. They live high up in the mountains, in cool forests full of bamboo plants. The famous Chengdu Breeding Giant Panda Research is located on the mountain of Fu Tou. There are clouds, rain and mist throughout the year.
What do they eat?
Giant pandas are considered carnivores, but 99% of their food consists of bamboo. They prefer bamboo shoots. Since bamboo is low in nutrition, Giant Panda has to eat for 10 to 16 hours a day to stay fit and healthy.
Giant Panda’s Life Span
Giant Pandas are very shy and like to live alone. The males and females only meet in late spring or early summer to mate. Three to five months later the female may give birth to one or two babies, called cubs, in a den in the ground. Usually only one of the cubs will live to become fully grown.
When giant panda cubs are born, they are very small and helpless. They cannot see and have little fur. The cubs drink their mother’s milk for about six months. The cubs grow quite slowly. They can move around after three months. After about a year, they will go to live on their own. Giant Pandas live between 17 and 20 years in the wild.
How many wild giant pandas live now?
One hundred years ago there were large numbers of giant pandas in China. Now there are less than 700 of them in the wild, even though they were protected by law. Nowadays the giant pandas in China live mainly in 13 special protected areas, called reserves. The pandas can live safely in the reserves because people cannot hunt them.
Why the Giant Panda are in danger?
Giant pandas are in danger because their habitat is being destroyed. Forest areas are being cut down to make room for homes and factories. The trees are sold as wood for building and furniture.
Sometimes the bamboo plants come into flower which means that the pandas don’t have food and they have to move out of their home to find food instead of starving.
Raw Video: Pandas Surviving Earthquake on Show
AssociatedPress asked:
Panda cubs born after the devastating Chinese earthquake appear to be healthy. The mother had to be evacuated from the Wolong National Nature Reserve. Cubs Pingping and Anan were the only panda twins born in the world in 2008. (Oct. 28)
Real Kung Fu Pandas
LauraJaneRich asked:
These giant pandas are brothers and love to play fight. Couldn’t resist writing some giant panda kung fu fighting music 
Shot at Chengdu Panda Research Base, China, in June 2008. Pandas rock!
Silver and Gold Bullion Coins
Alicia Tee Boon Chin asked:
Collecting silver and gold bullion coins can be an investment, an insurance against market inflation as well as a passionate hobby all combined into one. Amassing silver and gold bullion coins are the easiest method for you to start owning gold and silver. Many of the bullion coin series also feature multitudes of designs, created with outstanding craftsmanship, therefore making them very desirable objects to collect.Ever since the first bullion coin is issued in South Africa in 1967, many national mints worldwide have followed suit issuing their own bullion coins series, the most popular being the British Britannia series, the Chinese Gold Panda Series and the American Silver Eagle series.
Most silver and gold bullion coins are never used in daily commerce (some bullion coins like the Krugerrand have no face value!), despite that many of the bullion coins issued today are bestowed with legal tender status in their respective country of issue, therefore making them exportable to most of the countries worldwide without being subjected to import taxes, duty or VAT. This fact makes silver and gold bullion coins a very attractive means for private gold or silver ownership. Investors often put their money in gold and silver bullion coins to balance off the effects of inflation because the value of both metals have since increase more or less consistantly for the past five years. Then again it is notable that since many bullion coin series, especially those that changes designs every year, have very limited mintage, many of them below 100,000 units per year. This results in some bullion coins fetching much higher prices on top of their market gold content due to its rarity and collectible value. Hence investors tend to look for bullion coins that have repetitive design throughout their years of issue, have substantial mintages and does not command a high premium, one such excellent example is the South African Krugerrand coin, when it was first issued, the South African Krugerrand fetch a premium no higher than 5% of its gold content, today the premium can be as less as under 1% on top of their market price of gold.
Here are some tips to start your silver and gold bullion coin collection:
1. Are you an investor or collector? This is the major factor that will influence which coins to buy and which coins to “admire only”. Furthermore, caring for rare collectible bullion coins requires more technical expertise and some considerable investment in keeping your collection in pristine condition (but well worth the price).
2. Bullion coins are not fast money earners, they are usually kept for years before even trading or reselling them. As your collection grew, investment in the safekeeping such as a hidden safe in the house or the bank deposit vault would be necessary.
3. For starters, silver bullion coins are a great idea as they come cheaper, thus you can generate an impressive collection in a shorter time (and with less budget!).
4. Focus on collecting a few types of bullion coins as starters, the marketplace can be full of counterfeit and scams, read up about the series of bullion coins you collect, knowing certain facts such as sizes, purity, designs of the coin as well as special issues (e.g. there is no such thing as a silver Krugerrand) can easily help you identify which is a deal and which is a scam.
5. When buying from your local coin dealer, take the time to check your dealer background first, are they reputable in your area? Has this dealer sold similar items before? Do they offer honest advice and friendly service?
6. When buying online, the best method is to start buying from auction first before going to individual shops, as auction website such as ebay have feedback system tracking the past sales of the particular seller, giving good indication on whether the seller provide good service, or whether they have sell similar items in the past and of course whether they provide good quality wares. And the large market place of auction websites with multitude of sellers, can give good comparison of prices of a particular coin, giving you a good grasp on how much price that this particular coin is trading at.
Collecting silver and gold bullion coins can be an investment, an insurance against market inflation as well as a passionate hobby all combined into one. Amassing silver and gold bullion coins are the easiest method for you to start owning gold and silver. Many of the bullion coin series also feature multitudes of designs, created with outstanding craftsmanship, therefore making them very desirable objects to collect.Ever since the first bullion coin is issued in South Africa in 1967, many national mints worldwide have followed suit issuing their own bullion coins series, the most popular being the British Britannia series, the Chinese Gold Panda Series and the American Silver Eagle series.
Most silver and gold bullion coins are never used in daily commerce (some bullion coins like the Krugerrand have no face value!), despite that many of the bullion coins issued today are bestowed with legal tender status in their respective country of issue, therefore making them exportable to most of the countries worldwide without being subjected to import taxes, duty or VAT. This fact makes silver and gold bullion coins a very attractive means for private gold or silver ownership. Investors often put their money in gold and silver bullion coins to balance off the effects of inflation because the value of both metals have since increase more or less consistantly for the past five years. Then again it is notable that since many bullion coin series, especially those that changes designs every year, have very limited mintage, many of them below 100,000 units per year. This results in some bullion coins fetching much higher prices on top of their market gold content due to its rarity and collectible value. Hence investors tend to look for bullion coins that have repetitive design throughout their years of issue, have substantial mintages and does not command a high premium, one such excellent example is the South African Krugerrand coin, when it was first issued, the South African Krugerrand fetch a premium no higher than 5% of its gold content, today the premium can be as less as under 1% on top of their market price of gold.
Here are some tips to start your silver and gold bullion coin collection:
1. Are you an investor or collector? This is the major factor that will influence which coins to buy and which coins to “admire only”. Furthermore, caring for rare collectible bullion coins requires more technical expertise and some considerable investment in keeping your collection in pristine condition (but well worth the price).
2. Bullion coins are not fast money earners, they are usually kept for years before even trading or reselling them. As your collection grew, investment in the safekeeping such as a hidden safe in the house or the bank deposit vault would be necessary.
3. For starters, silver bullion coins are a great idea as they come cheaper, thus you can generate an impressive collection in a shorter time (and with less budget!).
4. Focus on collecting a few types of bullion coins as starters, the marketplace can be full of counterfeit and scams, read up about the series of bullion coins you collect, knowing certain facts such as sizes, purity, designs of the coin as well as special issues (e.g. there is no such thing as a silver Krugerrand) can easily help you identify which is a deal and which is a scam.
5. When buying from your local coin dealer, take the time to check your dealer background first, are they reputable in your area? Has this dealer sold similar items before? Do they offer honest advice and friendly service?
6. When buying online, the best method is to start buying from auction first before going to individual shops, as auction website such as ebay have feedback system tracking the past sales of the particular seller, giving good indication on whether the seller provide good service, or whether they have sell similar items in the past and of course whether they provide good quality wares. And the large market place of auction websites with multitude of sellers, can give good comparison of prices of a particular coin, giving you a good grasp on how much price that this particular coin is trading at.
Why do Giant Pandas eat almost exclusively meat?
charles b asked:
Why is it that Giant Pandas with a canivore’s digestive system eat Bamboo as their main food source instead of meat?
Sorry I got the question back to front, it’s meant to be why do they eat exclusively bamboo
Why is it that Giant Pandas with a canivore’s digestive system eat Bamboo as their main food source instead of meat?
Sorry I got the question back to front, it’s meant to be why do they eat exclusively bamboo
Sorry Kids, The Pandas Must Die
riskypenguin asked:
So its winter vacation and it’s near the end. So sometimes you can get a little bored and decide to do a video about killing Pandas. I really don’t want to kill pandas but this is still a great song.
~Music~
Panda Must Die–Corky and the Juice Pigs
Ren and Stimpy–Happy Happy Joy Joy