Wonderchirp
日本語Ask

Why do pandas eat bamboo?

この動画の日本語版

For grown-ups: the science

Pandas eat bamboo because it grows where they live, and they have strong jaws and teeth for chewing it.

Giant pandas are bears whose diet is almost entirely bamboo. They have powerful jaws and broad molars for crushing it, plus a modified wrist bone that helps them grip stalks. Bamboo is low in usable energy and pandas digest it inefficiently, so they spend many hours each day feeding.

What about...?

Ask your child's own question

Transcript

A panda sits in a green bamboo forest, munching a crunchy stalk. Why does it eat so much bamboo?

Bamboo grows all around where giant pandas live. It is the food they can find most easily.

A panda's strong jaws and big teeth crush tough bamboo stalks. Its body can get some energy from the soft parts inside.

Bamboo does not give pandas much energy, so they eat for many hours. They may munch leaves, shoots, and stalks all day.

So pandas eat bamboo because it grows nearby, and their bodies are built to chew it.