Giant pandas are able to survive on their meagre diet of bamboo partly by being frugal with the energy they spend on physical activity, scientists have found.
Researchers found that the metabolism of the panda is incredibly low - a 90kg panda <g data-gr-id="20">expends</g> less <g data-gr-id="19">tha</g> n half the energy of a 90kg human.
The panda, found mainly in China, is famous for being a meat eater turned vegetarian. In the <g data-gr-id="28">wild</g> its diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, but because its gut remains designed for digesting meat, this causes the bear huge problems.
Until now, how pandas survive on this poor diet has been a mystery, but it has been speculated that an essential component of their ability to do so is having a low energy demand.
The researchers measured the metabolic rates of pandas living both in captivity and in the wild.
"Pandas save a lot of energy by being frugal with the energy they spend on physical activity", said Professor John Speakman, co-first author, from the University of Aberdeen and Chinese Academy
of Sciences.