When you were born, you were pretty small: just a few pounds and less than 2 feet long. But giant pandas, even though they’re giant, are even tinier when they’re born. This giant panda cub born at a Belgium zoo weighed only 6 ounces — about the same as 3 regular candy bars! Any time a giant panda is born in a zoo, it’s super exciting news because it almost never happens. There are around 2,500 giant pandas in the world, with about 600 of those in zoos. So every teeny baby makes a giant difference.
Wee ones: If you have 2 legs and a baby panda has 4, who has more?
Little kids: If the mama panda has 4 fuzzy feet and the baby has 4 not-yet-so-fuzzy feet, how many feet do they have together? Bonus: The mama panda, Hao Hao, is 6 years old. How much older or younger than that are you?
Big kids: The last two giant pandas born in the U.S. were born on August 21, 2020 and August 23, 2013. Was the panda born in 2013 7 years old when the second panda cub was born in 2020? Bonus: If there are 2,464 giant pandas in the world, and 600 of them are in zoos, how many pandas are in the wild?
The sky’s the limit: The panda cub was born on June 2, and will be named on his 100th day of life. On what date will that happen? (Remember: the date of birth, June 2, counts as day 1! Also, June has 30 days, but July and August each have 31.)
Answers:
Wee ones: The baby panda has more, even if they’re smaller!
Little kids: 8 panda feet. Bonus: Different for everyone…subtract your age from 6, or subtract 6 from your age. If you’re 6, you’re the same.
Big kids: Not quite! The 2013 panda cub turned 7 years old 2 days after the 2020 cub was born. Bonus: 1,864 pandas.
The sky’s the limit: On September 9.
