The Panda
The giant panda of the Hengduan Mountains is one of the most familiar of all forms of wildlife. The few pandas that are left live in several isolated mountain regions of the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. In the wild, pandas feed exclusively on two types of bamboo, called arrow and umbrella.
The Forest
In the series of cool, misty mountains that harbor the few remaining pandas, there grows a thick forest of fir and larch trees, with pine and spruce being found in drier locales. The understory consists of maple, birch, mountain ash, rhododendron and the all-important bamboo, lifeblood of the giant panda.
Other Rare Animals
This dense, secluded forest harbors other wild animals, including the rare goat-like creature called the Takin. Also present is the Yunnan golden monkey, along with the snow leopard, wolf, serow, leopard and black bear. Poaching has reduced the populations of many of these animals, but none is as severely threatened as the giant panda.
Article Written By Henri Bauholz
Henri Bauholz is a professional writer covering a variety of topics, including hiking, camping, foreign travel and nature. He has written travel articles for several online publications and his travels have taken him all over the world, from Mexico to Latin America and across the Atlantic to Europe.
