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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Ancient Pandas Competed With Giant Apes for Bamboo


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The bamboo-covered terrain of Hainan, China, was once home to ancient pandas and giant apes, new fossils found in this limestone cave suggest.

Scientists say early humans may also have competed with the creatures for living space, although no fossil evidence has yet been found to support this theory.

Nearly half a million years ago, the present-day island was a peninsula, scientists say.

Photograph by Huang Wanbo