Giant panda to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut. Pandas are born with sterile intestines and require bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation. The giant panda is a "highly specialized" animal with "unique adaptations", and has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years. The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 30 lb) of bamboo shoots a day to compensate for the limited energy content of its diet. Ingestion of such a large quantity of material is possible because of the rapid passage of large amounts of indigestible
Taotao (giant panda) Taotao (giant panda) Taotao ( c. 1972 – April 2, 2008) was a Chinese giant panda. Taotao was China's oldest living giant panda at the time of her death at the age of 36. Taotao was born in the wild in Gansu province, and in October 1994 was brought to the zoo in Jinan in the Shandong province. Taotao never gave birth in captivity, despite the efforts of researchers and zoo keepers. Taotao was considered to be one of the Jinan Zoo's star attractions and was seen by millions of visitors from 1994 to 2008. The Jinan Zoo reportedly bestowed