A Wonderleaf question
Why do pandas eat bamboo?
a real page from the book
Pandas eat bamboo because it was the food their ancestors could depend on in their mountain home. Over time, pandas with stronger jaws and better bamboo-gripping paws survived more easily, so bamboo became their main meal, even though they still belong to the bear family.
Bamboo is filling but not very rich, so pandas must chew for much of the day to get enough energy. Their famous extra thumb is really a wrist bone that helps them hold stalks neatly, like a built-in dinner tool.
Wonder words
- bamboo
- evolution
- digestion
- calories
Try it out
At dinner, try picking up carrot sticks with just your fingers curled like a panda paw.
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