Why do pandas eat bamboo all the time? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Louis, 5, asks: why do pandas eat bamboo all the time?

   1. They barely ever eat it!

   2. Pandas have nothing else to do but eat

   3. It’s low in nutrition, so they need lots of it

   4. Bamboo has a special vitamin in it that makes pandas black and white

2. Olly, 7, asks: are red pandas related to giant pandas?

   1. They aren’t closely related

   2. Half of them are related

   3. Yes, they’re the same species

   4. Only giant pandas that dye their fur red are related to red pandas

3. Aiden, 7, asks: how do red pandas identify whose wee they smell?

   1. By using a special cone-shaped thing on the bottom of their tongue

   2. By testing the wee in a laboratory

   3. By rubbing smells on to their fur, then asking their friends who the smell reminds them of

   4. They have a chart of red pandas and how each one’s wee smells

4. Erin, 11, asks: do fish get thirsty?

   1. Yes, all the time!

   2. We have no idea

   3. Yes, sharks often stop for a cup of tea in the morning

   4. Only saltwater fish get thirsty, because of the salt

5. Julius, 8, asks: where does the sky start?

   1. It starts 100 miles above your head

   2. At the top of the trees

   3. In the air, as high as you can jump

   4. At the Earth’s surface

Solutions

1:C - Pandas eat bamboo because it’s easy to find in the places they live. It’s not very nutritious, though, so they have to eat a LOT of it to stay healthy, so it seems like they eat it all the time! , 2:A - Giant pandas and red pandas share a common ancestor, but are not closely related. Giant pandas are a type of bear, whereas red pandas are in their own family called Ailuridae., 3:A - Red pandas use their wee (and poo) to mark their territory, as well as smells from glands by their bottom. They “smell” by testing scents using the underside of their tongue, which has a cone-shaped structure for collecting liquid and bringing it close to a gland in their mouth – so this is how they work out whose wee they are smelling., 4:B - We have no way to know whether fish feel thirsty in the way humans do. We do know that they need to stay hydrated to stay alive., 5:D - The sky starts at the surface of the Earth. The Earth is surrounded by a clear mix of gases, called the atmosphere. When you look at the sky, you see Earth’s atmosphere – which starts right where your feet are.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and the new Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book.