It's getting cooler in DC
Although the weather in D.C. has been mostly gloomy for the last couple of weeks, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian don’t seem to be bothered. Giant pandas are adapted for life in a cool, rainy climate. They have thick coats, with oily fur to help them stay warm and dry. In the Sichuan Province of China, where most wild giant pandas are found, the average rainfall is 35 to 47 inches per year. By comparison, Washington averages about 39 inches. Both pandas actually seem to be enjoying the cooler, albeit rainy, weather and are spending much of their time napping in their yards.
As cooler weather approaches, we see the pandas’ bamboo consumption increase. Currently, Mei and Tian are eating about 55 to 66 pounds of bamboo each day. In the winter, when their appetites peak, they can each eat about 110 pounds of bamboo a day! In the winter months, they also shift from eating mostly leaves to eating primarily the culm, or woody stalk of the bamboo.
Source: National Zoo
