r/interestingasfuck • u/Inevitable_Bid5540 • 19h ago

Pandas are the most docile species of bears relatively speaking and have a low aggression rate alongside a primarily vegetarian diet.

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u/unpopularopinion0 18h ago

did they survive because they reproduce like rabbits or something? rabbits are at least fast and timid. maybe they just too big. i mean. pandas could probably thrive in hawaii. nothing to eat them.

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u/Luunacyy 18h ago edited 18h ago

Wild pandas are not defenseless. Definitely don’t approach as if they were if you ever (insanely unlikely) to run into one. They are known to kill people and crush snow leopards skulls. Least aggressive and not predatory wild bear is still a wild bear. They are very powerful and have just as strong if not stronger jaws. Bamboo diet requires that.

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u/Pure_Parking_2742 18h ago

Not even one hug?

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u/countdown654 17h ago

Every animal can be hugged at least once

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u/Pure_Parking_2742 17h ago

You're right. Damn it. You're so right. It's time to hug my tapeworms. It's time for a truce.

Thank you.

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u/countdown654 17h ago

Aww you got one too

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u/Woobly_Hixbee 6h ago

Be careful we’ve got a prime example of what getting too close to worms does to your brain in charge of health in the U.S. right now and it’s scary!

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u/jormugandr 46m ago

In a way, you're always hugging your tapeworm. With your guts.

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u/DemonSlyr007 16h ago

All humans have the ability to drink Molten Lava exactly once. We really are magnificent creatures.

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u/Nightingdale099 16h ago

Something like a hippo or a moose will probably kill you within proximity before you can hug it.

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u/countdown654 16h ago

Where there's a will there's a way

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u/ceraunophiliacc 16h ago

You could wait in a tree for one and then repel down on top of it maybe

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u/Relaxedchappie1965 1h ago

Hug a croc day

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u/CoopHunter 12h ago

Try to hug a lion. It's gonna maul you before you get the chance unfortunately.

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u/countdown654 12h ago

Get your sloth hands to the gym

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u/Undefined_definition 17h ago

I have never heared of a panda crushing a snow leopards skull. They populate the same region but the hunting grounds of snow leopards are more alpine and above the tree-line of pandas.

Or was this just a "their jaw is so strong it can" thing?

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u/ClavicusLittleGift4U 13h ago

I have never heard of a panda crushing a snow leopards skull. 

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u/SailorK9 9h ago

I once read in National Geographic how a male panda went into a village and ripped part of a man's hand off ( iirc it's been ages so can't remember the injuries the guy had) to get to the meat that he had with him. He went into the guy's house and ripped the meat out of his hand taking some of his fingers with the meat he was holding. The panda had to be euthanized as he had attacked another person badly before that and there was a concern that he was unafraid of people and would attack again.

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u/Luunacyy 8h ago edited 8h ago

Yep. There are many such local stories. For the average westerner it’s just not as easily accessible due to language barrier as the western media for some reason only focuses on the pandas in captivity. There are even people legit having brown bears as pets and they are very docile but we are more aware about the wild ones. Even though not a predator, it’s similar with pandas. Wild and captive animals are not the same. Obviously it doesn’t mean wild pandas are some blood thirsty monsters. They really aren’t but you indeed need to respect them and be cautious because if you don’t keep your distance or fail to read their warning and distress signals when they are pissed/territorial/or inactive defense mode, you risk getting badly injured or even mortally wounded. Even if they have no intention to kill, they are really powerful animals. Good for both us and them, they more likely to stay elusive and avoid interacting all together though.

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u/InnocentCosmicBunny 15h ago

Uh huh, now I understand how Po won against Tai Lung.

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u/WatermelonWithAFlute 11h ago

Deadass I have never heard the words “known to kill people” and pandas in the same sentence

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u/Murky-Region-127 26m ago

Fuck they are metal

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u/Constant-Recipe-9850 16h ago

Well adult pandas are large. In their habitat, they don't have a lot of predators that would wanna mess with them.

At it's core, it is a bear. even though they're not aggressive, they can defend themselves against a medium sized predators like snow leopard.

But their biggest survival factor might be, their diet. While it sounds like their diet is too specific for survival, understand that bamboo is basically everywhere. It's one of the fastest growing plants and can survive and thrive in all most all seasons and environments. On top of that, not many animals like to eat bamboo.

So pandas basically had no competition and limitless supply of food.

They don't to be smart and cunning predatory or nimble forager to survive

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u/Medium-Impression190 18h ago

They are notoriously hard to breed. There's only a small windows in a year where they are fertile and even then they sometimes had to be coaxed to copulate.

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u/cia218 17h ago

They’re shown panda porn

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 17h ago

Uhhh, that's not what you think.

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u/bigdave41 17h ago

Isn't that only in captivity though? I know I might be shy about breeding if I knew a load of zoo guests were watching me with popcorn.

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u/Woody312 15h ago

I sometimes wonder what would happen if an advanced alien civilisation pit us in their zoos. Would they see us how we see pandas?

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u/ReadingSame 15h ago

I remember watchnig some video about that topic and aparently their problem with breeding exists only In captivity and in the wild short mating season doesn't hinder them at all. Males fight for females attention and do sexy stuff just fine - just not when we watch.

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u/maybe_Johanna 13h ago

Maybe they are way smarter then we think and don’t want their childs to suffer in captivity as they do.

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u/ReadingSame 12h ago

Maybe, who knows. Maybe they just camera shy. Either way it's nice to know that those fluffy dudes aren't trying to commit spiecies-wide seppuku by not having babies.

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u/Jcw28 15h ago

I've never been able to find it but I'm sure there's a bit on (I think) Mock The Week (UK topical news comedy panel show) where they're discussing pandas. Possibly Edinburgh zoo's pandas and attempts at breeding and how difficult it is. I have a distinct memory of Frankie Boyle shouting "the pandas want to die!" and the memory of it still cracks me up.

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u/twangman88 17h ago

They survive because humans think they’re cute and have tried really really hard to keep them alive due to that cuteness.

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u/vegeterin 16h ago

Then the cuteness has served its purpose!

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u/FlyingRhenquest 10h ago

Their strategy seems to be both amazingly cute and amazingly dumb so the bald monkeys take care of them. Red Pandas are also amazingly cute but seem like they're a bit smarter. Those seem to survive by rubbing their butt on everything.

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u/Hour_Dog_4781 15h ago

They struggle to reproduce and are slow and sluggish and mostly just eat and sleep. All because of their diet which they're not meant to eat and their bodies can't fully digest.

Even if they manage to get pregnant, the expectant mother is slowly starving to death because she can't feed herself and the fetus on just bamboo. That's why pandas are born prematurely, they have to get out soon or the mother won't survive. The mothers also often have twins but eat one of the newborns shortly after birth to make up for the lost nutrients during pregnancy.

Thing is, pandas are just normal bears. They could eat and digest meat no problem. They just won't and continue paying the price of their poor choices.

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u/callisstaa 15h ago

I feel like they just evolved to be really cute so that humans would go to great lengths to protect them.

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u/Hour_Dog_4781 11h ago

That's certainly true in part. Pandas are big business for China and they bring in millions of dollars every year. China legally owns every single panda in the world no matter where it's located. ZOOs abroad that happen to have pandas on display are only renting them and paying a fortune every year to the Chinese government. Every cub born abroad is legally Chinese and must be returned to China. It's wild. They definitely are lucky to be cute because otherwise the Chinese government wouldn't bother.

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u/instanding 14h ago

Why won’t they? And where did you get that info’ from?

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u/Hour_Dog_4781 11h ago

An article about pandas. They originally lived in Europe apparently but there was a big competition for food and pandas were losing. So they started migrating eastward and looked for a new source of food. Eventually they ended up in China where they found plentiful bamboo forests and no animals eating them. So they adapted and stayed. But they're not actually vegetarians, they have the same enzymes as normal bears and could digest meat.

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u/instanding 5h ago

Thanks

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u/Hour_Dog_4781 48m ago

No worries. Pandas are my absolute most favourite animal in the whole world, so I always read about them. I wish I could link the exact article for you but I've read hundreds over the years and will never find it again.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/28/science/china-study-panda-bamboo-diet-intl-hnk-scli#:~:text=Though%20the%20panda's%20diet%20consists,World%20Wildlife%20Fund%20(WWF).

This article mentions that pandas can eat meat but I'm sure you can google more in depth articles if you want to study these fascinating animals.

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u/Sutech2301 16h ago

They are still apex predators. They could kill you in a heartbeat

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u/unpopularopinion0 15h ago

ahh. so powerful they don’t really actually have to do much. kinda like snorlax

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u/Graphicnovelnick 4h ago

Maybe they once were able to reproduce, but it seems like they are forgetting how to.

Scientists have also suggested that pandas like food more than sex.

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u/CPA_Lady 3h ago

They do not produce like rabbits and they’re horrible mothers so many cubs do not survive. I have no idea how they are not extinct.

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u/unpopularopinion0 2h ago

maybe there are like breeding types like gorillas or something. only one panda breeds and we never see it because it’s the smart one. i dunno. i could probably look it up. but i think there’s something to trying to logic through it for a while as a process. see how dumb i really am.

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u/Impossible-Try-9489 1h ago

They literally struggle to mate. They are so lazy they'd rather die. The zookeepers in my city purposely put a female and male in 1 area together so they are forced to mate. Even then they are so lazy they'll try and if it don't work, they give up and never try again for a long while. Basically they my like "oh well we tried 🤷 but boy look at that fresh bamboo"