Even though I’m a total cat person, (there’s nothing cooler than a stealthy jungle feline! Jaguars, anyone?!) I must say, there’s something remarkable about pandas. For me, they’re just so exotic. I’ve never been up close and personal to one, and I only know of them through movies like “Kung Fu Panda,” cartoons and other pop culture references, but they look cute and cuddly and appear to be playful and bouncy. I love how slow-moving they are, eating with intentional movement, their bodies lumbering along never at all going over the speed limit of crawling! They’re just so interesting to watch and learn about.

While I would call them adorable, they are still wild animals and have a duality to them. They can be caring and nurturing, however, they still have instincts and peculiar behavior researchers and caretakers are trying to unravel.

Here’s a fun fact: it’s not strange for pandas to produce twins. In fact, half of all panda births are twins. That being said, however, both twins don’t usually survive because panda mothers typically abandon one of them. While the exact reason isn’t proven, it’s not because of spite. It’s supposed that the panda mother doesn’t have enough milk or the energy to take care of her two little ones. The abandoning of one cub happens almost every time.