Gina Crudo, age 10, of Staten Island, New York, for her question:
What do pandas eat?
A panda thinks that eating is the world's most pleasant invention. Nobody has to tell him to chew each bite with tender loving care. Nobody has to remind him to eat up the last morsel on his plate. At least this is true of America's two newly adopted pandas. They arrived with detailed menu instructions worked out by Chinese scientists. And their main courses are prepared in their own special kitchen.
Pandas that live in the wild nibble a lot of bamboo leaves and chew on the stalks.
They also catch a few mice and sometimes use a paddy paw to flip a tasty fish from a mountain stream. Scientists are not sure of all the items on their menu because wild pandas are shy and very clever at hiding from people who wish to observe their habits. What's more, there are not many wild pandas to be seen and they live in very lonely regions of the high Himalayas.
The Chinese have very strict laws to protect their wild pandas. But a few have been adopted to live in the Peking Zoo. And, as everybody knows, last year two of those pampered pandas were presented to the United States. Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing now enjoy life in their Panda Palace. Millions of visitors to Washington flock to see them in the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Zoo. And those charming clowns coax every visitor to give them a big happy smile.
.Their main meals, prepared in the panda kitchen, are served at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. A sizeable helping of thick gruel is served in a sturdy round metal pan. It has to be sturdy because pandas are playful and very strong. Breaking up fragile toys and such is part of their fun. The gruel in the panda proof plate is a balanced mixture of rice and powdered milk, vitamins and sometimes cornmeal. A little meat also may be added.
Raw carrots, crisp kale and sweet potatoes are served as vegetables. The favorite desert is chewy apples. Mealtime is the great event of the day and the pandas take plenty of time to enjoy every bite. The charming clowns also perform antics to show that the menu is appreciated. They squat on their haunches., lie on their backs and use their paddy paws to hold morsels. They watch their audience with cute glances and sometimes wear their empty plates as cocky hats.
Grown pandas weigh about 300 pounds and breakfast and dinner do not provide food for the day. Between meals they snack on plentiful supplies of bamboo leaves and stalks. They also find time for playful panda romps and somehow manage to turn their between meal eating into clownish antics. One thing is certain, our adopted pandas certainly try hard to show us how much they enjoy their food.