By Hu Jinchu

Ailuropoda and the early giant pandas are similar in size with modern giant pandas. Their figures resembled a fat dog; their nose and legs were shorter than those of today's pandas. During an evolutionary period of 200 million years, the giant panda family experienced amazing physical changes. The length of its body is about 160-180 centimetres and its weight is about 80-120 kilograms. The increase in its body size indicates two evolutionary histories. First, because it eats bamboo, giant panda was considered a vegetarian. But bamboo does not have much nutritional value as opposed to animal flesh. Their metabolic rate is comparatively small, so the enlargement of the body allows them adapt well to consuming large amounts of banboo. Second, because the anthropoid ape thrived smimultaneously to the giant pandas and because sdof changes in climate, the giant pandas were forced to move into the mountains and ridges. There it was warm, cool and moist. If obliged to move higher up the mountains, it will be even colder and more moist. Due to these reasons, the enlargement of the body forced them seek something more nutritious than bamboo, but also suitable to the moist, cold weather. The mandschuricus tigers have a bigger figure than that of southern China tigers. People in the north are taller than those in the south. Comparing the taller and the bigger with the shorter and the smaller, the former's surface is relatively reduced. Owing to this, the emitted heat is also less. The consumed energy is reduced, too, which is helpful for their adaptation to the cruel climate.

The panda's coloring is very simple but graceful. It fits her scientific name which was after David, the French naturist who is the first westerner to see giant panda. The strong and clear black and white cooring has led local people to name it coloured bear or white bear. Such a body colour, especially in winter, mixes together with the colour of nature to help protect the panda. The long winter of the alpine forests is the season with the least food available to all animals. During this time they are cold and hungry. It is really very hard for them to survive and particularly difficult for the carnivores to find prey. At this time for those hungery carnivores, they threaten all of their neighbour animals. Most of the creatures hibernate under the ground. It is not easy for anyone who has the intention of hunting them to find them. No one dares to provoke them, for they have great strength and sharp teeth. When winter comes to a green world of bamboo, bright black and white become easily seen. For pandas, their coloring look more like a serious warning to other animals intending to attack them than an attractive dress. It warns their rivals that they should not risk their lives. They'd better go away and look for the easily gotten prey such as musk deers, tufted deer and gorals. More importantly, such a colouring can be easily seen by others so that they can care for each other at a certain distance, dever disturbing one another, and avoiding conflicts so that they can keep living in solidarity.

The pandas' hair is very thick, and the layer of loose substantial medullaris in it is very thick, too. This is a good material for keeping warm in cold temperatures. The fur covering the body is particularly thick with layer of grease on the surface of the hair,which allow the body to maintian a constant temperature. Such a light and thick coat works well to protect against the effects of wind and moisture. It is not strange that moisture can not attack the body and cause diseases such as arthritis . Even if it is winter, they needn't find a place to hide and lie down to hibernate. In the snow they are able to fall asleep over night.

If one only looks at its face, the Giant Panda is really like a cat. The mouth is not as thin and long as the bear's, nor as ugly. It has a round face. Though the eyes are very small, there are two black circles surrounding them as if the panda is wearing a pair of glasses. At the first sight the two black circles are like a round pair of eyes. Excluding the big black circles, the real eyeballs are very small. The pupils in the eyeball is upside down just like that of a cat's.This is because, their eyesight has adapted to the environment of the deep bamboo forests. The results in less developed eyesight that makes the panda a short-sighted animal. This also indicates that they are able to move about when it is getting dark. Also like the eyes of cat's, the panda's eyes are able to adjust to the change in light. Their big and round ears are very strange, too. The ears are so black that they look like two black flowers. The black ears are also a kind of adaptation bare in the cold environment, capable of working to pre-vent heat from escaping. Their sense of hearing is much more sensitive than their sight because the round and big ears receiving sound waves well. As soon as they hear something strange, they will run away quickly and hide. For this reason, they are not easily seen in the wild.Though the panda has a face very much like a cat's, it is quite different from the cat. The round face looks very full because of its adaptation to biting bamboo which makes the muscles in the face stronger from one generation to another. The bones joining the masseters in the face are different from those of a bear or a cat.