The giant panda has an insatiable appetite for bamboo. A typical animal eats half the day—a full 12 out of every 24 hours. It takes 28 pounds (12.5 kilograms) of bamboo to satisfy a giant panda's daily dietary needs, and it hungrily plucks the stalks with elongated wrist bones that function rather like thumbs. Pandas will sometimes eat birds or rodents as well. __