Giant Panda (Bear)

[revised August 24, 2006]
[revised September 11, 2020]
Original Animal Characteristics
Size Level: 11
Length: 4-6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m).
Weight: 220-250 lbs (135 to 180 kg).
Build: Medium.

Mutant Changes & Cost
Total BIO-E: 25
Attribute Bonuses: +3D6 SDC, +4 to PS, Brute Strength, +3 PE, +3 PB and +4 Spd.

Human Features
Hands: Automatically partial or 5 BIO-E for full.
Biped: Automaticallt partial or 5 BIO-E for full.
Speech: 5 BIO-E for partial or 10 BIO-E for full.
Looks: None. The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white.
5 BIO-E for partial. Has the general characteristics similar to a mutant bear (small, humanoid in appearance, difined snout and heavy fur, and massive build) but is distinguished by it's black-and-white coat. 10 BIO-E for full. Humanoid with dark circles around small beedy eyes; broad or nose; large round dark ears; a lot of thick body hair (dark on the arms, legs, and upper back); powerful build and barrel chest.

Natural Weapons
5 BIO-E for 2D4 damage Heavy Claws.
10 BIO-E for 2D6 damage Heavy Claws.
5 BIO-E for 1D6 damage Teeth.
10 BIO-E for 2D6 damage Teeth.
5 BIO-E for 2D6 damage Teeth.

Mutant Animal Powers
Automatically gets Advanced Sight (can be traded away for color blind).
10 BIO-E for Beastly Strength.
20 BIO-E for Crushing Strength.
5 BIO-E for Extra Physical Endurance.
10 BIO-E for Extraordinary Speed.
5 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing.
5 BIO-E for Advanced Smell.
10 BIO-E for Predatory Burst.
10 BIO-E for Hold Breath.

Vestigial Disadvantages
-5 BIO-E for Color Blindness.
-5 BIO-E for taking Nearsightedness.
-10 BIO-E for taking Vesigial "pseudo thumb" (Special). Over the centuries, Giant Pandas have evolved a "pseudo thumb" formed by an elongated and enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad of skin. Now this "thumb" gets in the way and reduces the Panda's manual dexterity (-10% on skills requiring manual dexterity).
-10 BIO-E for taking Reptile Brain: Predator.
-10 BIO-E for Musk Glands.
-10 BIO-E for Diet: Carnivore.
-5 BIO-E for Diet: Herbivore.
-15 BIO-E for Diet: Bamboo (Special). Giant pandas are biologically unique. They are closely related to bears and have the digestive system of a carnivore, but they have adapted to a vegetarian diet and depend almost exclusively on bamboo as a food source. Not designed to process plant matter, the panda's digestive system cannot easily break down the cellulose in bamboo, so pandas must eat huge amounts - as much as 83 pounds or about 40 kg, and for up to 14 hours, each day [Source: WWF China].

NOTES & MORE INFO:

• Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate.
• There is on-going debate as to whether this creature is truly a bear or more related to the raccoon, or perhaps in a class of its own, rather than to a bear.
• PandaCam
• http://www.wwfchina.org/english
• http://www.panda.org/species/panda
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Bear