My immediate reaction upon seeing a panda in person for the first time was to say “aww!” Their cute faces with their cuddly bodies make pandas seem like docile creatures that you can cuddle up and fall asleep with on a cold rainy night, but pandas can be as aggressive as other bears and are capable of attacking humans. Nevertheless, from a distance, they seem like soft gentle creatures that give great hugs.
When someone mentions Chengdu in China, the first thing people think of is pandas. Much like the laidback way of life that Chengdu locals live, panda bears share a similar lifestyle. They move fairly slowly and spend hours eating bamboo. Once they are full, they slowly walk to a shady spot under a tree and stretch out before falling asleep. Relaxed is the keyword used to describe pandas and Chengdu natives alike. Quite a change of pace for a New Yorker.
Pandas live in south central Asia, mostly in the Sichuan Province of China. They also live in the Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces but there aren't as many there. Unfortunately, there are not many pandas left in the wild, so many reside in zoos and conservation bases around the world. Because of their small numbers, pandas are considered endangered. Each day, farming and deforestation contribute to driving pandas out of their natural environment. Because of their specific diet of bamboo, it is extremely difficult for pandas to survive without a readily available food source.
