Question

Argue whether or not pandas are at the top of their food chain in the following scenario.

Pandas are herbivores that live in the mountainous regions of China. They are peaceful and docile and spend about 18 hours a day eating bamboo. They have only one natural predator: the leopard. However, adult pandas are so large that they are never hunted. Leopards will eat only baby pandas that are left alone, and this occurrence is very rare. Most baby pandas are killed accidentally when their mothers roll over.

Answer 1

In this ecosystem the Leopard usually eats the Giant Panda bear cubs because the adult pandas are very intimidating out in the wild because of their size. The Leopard is then eaten by the Bengal Tiger which in this situation is the Tertiary Consumer and is at the top of the Panda Bears food chain.

The Panda comes under the secondary consumer, as it uses photosynthesis to produce its food – Bamboo. Cubs become a prey to other animals such as Leopards and tigers, which are known as the primary consumer. However adults intimidate other predators because of their great size.