Why don't lions and tigers eat pandas?

As we all know, pandas are found only in China and distributed in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu regions, as of 2013, there are only more than 1,800 giant pandas in the wild.

China does not have a lion in the wild, according to previous records, lions were introduced to China in the form of tribute from the Western Region (probably India), so when reading books or watching In Chinese historical films, we often see that lions brought to China are always named "lions of the West Region".

About tiger, Siberian tiger, South China tiger, Bengal tiger and Indochinese tiger have appeared in China. The Siberian tiger lives in the cold northern regions, the Bengal tiger lives in the Tibet region, the habitat of these two tigers makes it impossible for them to meet pandas. It is possible to meet the South China tiger and the Indochinese tiger with habitat overlap with the panda, but it is almost impossible to see them in the wild, because experts believe that the male tiger tiger is almost extinct in the wild. and Indochinese tigers are on the verge of extinction. Therefore, when tigers and lions do not have a chance to meet pandas, how can they have a chance to eat panda meat?

Picture 1 of Why don't lions and tigers eat pandas?
Tiger - panda - lion.

However, if we try to dig deeper and assume that the South China tigers are not extinct in the wild, why don't they still eat giant pandas?

To answer this question, we must first learn about pandas.

Most people are confused by the panda's appearance. Pandas have a round, fleshy and very cute body, and it is because of this appearance that many people think that pandas are weak, gentle animals and easily eaten by animals. "squeezing" the natural outside.

Picture 2 of Why don't lions and tigers eat pandas?
Most people are confused by the panda's appearance.

In ancient times, pandas were a rare and exotic beast, they were thought to be a species of "beast", popularly nicknamed the beast that ate iron, leopard and scorpion. In the "History of Sima Qian: Five Emperors Ban Ji" it is also recorded that pandas were once used in combat, which indicates that it was not a gentle animal as it appeared, nor was it is a weak and vulnerable animal as many people think.

Pandas are valued and designated a national treasure by China, entirely due to a foreigner - father David (Armand David). When China did not begin to care and protect pandas, the French father David was very fond of this animal, so he hunted everywhere, trying to get this animal out of China's borders. Since then, a love for pandas has been formed among foreigners, and to have pandas, countries have sent people to China to look for them. This is also the main reason why the number of giant pandas has plummeted, at that time, at least 200 live pandas were sent abroad, and the number of those that died during transportation was not. to be measurable.

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Pandas are valued and designated as national treasures by China.

It wasn't until the 1940s that China realized the seriousness of the problem, banned foreigners arbitrarily from catching pandas, and began actively conserving them.

Pandas are also bears, why are they vegetarian?

The panda's ancestor was the Shi panda, and from its tooth fossils, it has been inferred that the Shi panda was an omnivore.

In fact, modern pandas are also omnivores, the rangers in China have found a lot of hair and traces of animals in the feces of giant pandas, some people have taken pictures of giant pandas eat animal carcasses. And there is a fact, the bamboo rat in the bamboo forest is its favorite snack. It's just that this situation is relatively rare, most of the time pandas still eat bamboo. Bamboo is everywhere, and it doesn't overlap with the food of other animals, so it doesn't take much searching and still can fill your stomach.

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In fact, modern pandas are also omnivores.

Panda, tiger and lion, who is stronger?

In fact, this is a comparison between all three species of bear, tiger, and lion. But it is difficult to compare the strength between lions and bears outside the natural environment, because their habitats are geographically too far apart, and they have absolutely no chance to meet to confront each other.

As for the comparison of strength between bears and tigers, there have been many articles, so we will not mention it here. But in short, bears have the following advantages: amazing bite force, sharp and powerful claws, and thick fur. In real cases, although bears also kill tigers, in most cases the tiger wins.

The panda's combat effectiveness is actually pretty average. They are medium-sized animals, meanwhile, tigers and lions are much bigger and heavier than pandas, their fighting skills are also much stronger, pandas have no advantage over them except for the ability to climb. tree.

Picture 5 of Why don't lions and tigers eat pandas?
Tigers and pandas are very unlikely to meet in the wild.

In general, tigers and lions don't eat pandas for three reasons:

Pandas are bears, and they are not weak, although tigers can kill pandas, they require a lot of strength and time, so hunting ungulates will be more optimal. Therefore, pandas are not a priority for tigers.

The second reason comes from humans, with the development and expansion of human habitats, the living areas of wild animals do not overlap as before, so they are rarely or can be said. are not met outside of the natural environment, so they will not be able to eat each other.

And finally, tigers have their own favorite food, and won't eat other animals unless it's unavoidable.