1990 Endangered Wildlife (Giant Panda) 50 Bhutanese chhertum MNH |
1990 Endangered Wildlife (Giant Panda) 50 Bhutanese chhertum MN H
Text: Giant Panda 50 Bhutanese chhertum
Condition: MNH
Title: Endangered Wildlife
Face
value: 50 Ch
Stamp
Currency: Ch
Country/area: Bhutan
Year: 1990
Set: 1990 Endangered Wildlife
Stamp
number in set: 1
Basic
colour: Multi-coloured
Usage: Franking
Type: Stamp
Theme: Endangered Wildlife
Perforation:
Michel
number: 1315
Designer:
Printing
office: Bhutan Post
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The panda
(Ailuropoda melanoleuca, lit. "black and white cat-foot"), also known
as the giant panda to distinguish it from the unrelated red panda, is a bear
native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by
the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across
its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivores, the panda's diet is
99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild
tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity,
they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas
along with specially prepared food.
The
giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan
province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. As a result of farming, deforestation and
other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it
once lived.
The
panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. A 2007 report shows 239
pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Wild population estimates vary; one estimate
shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated
that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that the number of pandas
in the wild is on the rise. However, the IUCN does not believe there is enough
certainty yet to reclassify the species from Endangered to Vulnerable.
While
the dragon has often served as China's national emblem, internationally the
panda appears at least as commonly. As such, it is becoming widely used within
China in international contexts, for example the five Fuwa mascots of the
Beijing Olympics.
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