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Post by brobear on May 2, 2017 9:38:39 GMT -5
nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giant-panda Social Structure Adult giant pandas may be generally solitary, they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Recent research has also found that giant pandas may form communities of seven to 15 individuals within the local population. These individuals occupy a "group" territory, within which male home ranges overlap almost completely while female home ranges overlap far less. Members of different "groups" generally avoid socializing with each other. Offspring stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years. Reproduction and Development Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. They may be reproductive until about age 20. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time she is able to conceive. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other. Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. This means a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. The giant pandas' naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality. At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother's part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size. Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years.
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Post by King Kodiak on Nov 17, 2018 7:15:05 GMT -5
Panda love is the stuff of romance novels OCTOBER 31, 2018 4:55PM Chinese research facility unveils 12 giant panda cubs Rhian Deutromnews.com.au I THINK we could all learn some valuable lessons from the sex lives of panda bears. While this statement is clearly something I will be forced to talk through with my therapist next week, I promise that there is some sound scientific reasoning behind it. Scientists from China and the US have released their findings from a study of the mating rituals of giant pandas today, and the results are quite extraordinary and very romantic. ‘And when I get that feeling, I want, sexual healing …’ Picture: iStock ‘And when I get that feeling, I want, sexual healing …’ Picture: iStock The study, conducted over the course of two years, found that giant pandas have the best, and possibly only, sex of their lives when their partners sing them a love song beforehand. These love songs are even whispered into the panda’s fluffy ears during intercourse, which is just extremely romantic in my opinion. I mean, who doesn’t love a good serenading every now and then? Lurking scientists then recorded these sexy panda vocalisations and analysed them back in their lab, concluding that the sweet songs are “crucial for achieving behavioural synchrony and signalling intention to mate”. ‘Sorry babe, not tonight. I just had a really big meal.’ Every girl panda, ever. Picture: Wang He/Getty ‘Sorry babe, not tonight. I just had a really big meal.’ Every girl panda, ever. Picture: Wang He/Getty The study examined 23 adult giant pandas during the 2016 and 2018 breeding seasons in Sichuan, China. All the subjects were sexually active, responsible adults. The scientists clearly had no time for bedroom rookies. The subjects were kept in a sort of tawdry sex enclosure, where they were introduced to their one night stand and observed by researchers from afar. A real mood killer. Each session recorded sounds that were described in the study as “bleats, chirps, moans, barks and roars”. Apparently, some of these sounds indicate that the sex is about to get violent and could leave one of the pandas with serious or life-threatening injuries. As a result, the study recommended that animal caretakers should be trained to recognise the different vocal behaviours of their pandas in order to predict “successful copulation versus … likely failure”. “This could also provide a valuable tool for breeding programs,” the study found. The more you know, right? amp.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/panda-love-is-the-stuff-of-romance-novels/news-story/7c29bd4baf181ca1a0b6ac63d7880eda |
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Post by brobear on Nov 17, 2018 7:43:13 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Nov 19, 2018 2:27:32 GMT -5
phys.org/news/2018-10-mammalian-vocalizations-lead-up-copulations-giant.html A study of mammalian vocalizations in lead-up to copulations using giant pandas as an example A team of researchers from San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research and the China Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda has found that vocalizations play an important role in the lead-up to copulation with giant pandas. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes their study of vocalizations leading up to copulation in giant pandas and what they learned. A lot of research has been conducted on vocalizations that are a part of mating rituals in mammals, but what about vocalizations that occur after a potential mate has responded? That is what the researchers with this new effort wanted to know. Do such vocalizations play a role in the success or failure of a given mating attempt? And if so, in what ways? To find the answers to these questions, the researchers chose to study the vocalization rituals of giant pandas as they were about to engage in intercourse. To learn more about how vocalizations are used once a male and female are engaged in the lead-up to copulation, the researchers focused their study on 23 adult giant pandas living near Sichuan, China. The animals were monitored during the breeding season over the years 2016 to 2018. The team used microphones set up in the area to record the sounds the giant pandas made as they went about their courtship rituals. The researchers found patterns in the noises made by their subjects—some noises and the way they were expressed led to successful mating. Other noises, on the other hand, led to failure. They noted also that giant pandas vocalized in different ways—some vocalizations were expressed softly into the ear during intercourse, as one example, an act the researchers described as sort of a love song. They suggest the vocalizations are an important means for achieving synchrony and expressing intentions. The researchers suggest their findings could help those involved in assisting with panda reproduction efforts. It could also help prevent violent conflicts that sometimes arise between giant pandas when mating rituals go awry. Read more at: phys.org/news/2018-10-mammalian-vocalizations-lead-up-copulations-giant.html#jCp
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Post by brobear on Nov 19, 2018 2:30:56 GMT -5
animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/giant-panda Pandas are arguably the most vocal of all the bear species. One of the most distinctive of the panda vocalizations is the “bleat.” This sounds similar to the sound a lamb or a goat kid would make, and it’s a friendly sound, a greeting. Pandas don't roar the way you think of a brown bear roaring. Other vocalizations include honks, huffs, barks, and growls. Young cubs are known to croak and squeal. There are other ways pandas communicate, too. Both male and female pandas have a scent gland underneath their short tail that secretes a waxy substance used to leave scent marks. Pandas scent mark trees, rocks, bamboo, and bushes. The scent is pretty strong. Human noses can smell the stinky, waxy scent mark from about a foot away, but pandas are more sensitive to smell, so to them it's even stronger! We’ve discovered that a scent-marked tree or rock can serve as a community bulletin board, notifying pandas in the area what other pandas have been there and how long ago they left their scent mark. Another panda can detect the sex, age, reproductive condition, social status, and even individual identity of the scent maker—as well as how long that scent has been there. Male pandas often perform “handstands” to leave scent marks. A handstand gets a panda’s rear end higher up the tree, so the scent mark will be higher, too. It seems that pandas are most interested in higher-placed scent marks; the panda with the highest scent mark is obviously the biggest—or at least the tallest—panda.
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Post by BruteStrength on Dec 17, 2018 21:49:17 GMT -5
Nice info. I assume that panadas have strong noses just like brown bears do. Probably not as strong but strong enough.
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Post by brobear on Dec 18, 2018 4:57:08 GMT -5
Nice info. I assume that panadas have strong noses just like brown bears do. Probably not as strong but strong enough. Good question.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 3:02:21 GMT -5
The only answer I have for this question is a bear has a sense of smell stronger than that of a bloodhound.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 18:21:27 GMT -5
The pandas do have a complex social structure despite being solitary. It seems like up to 15 individual have territories which overlap (males more so than females).
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Post by tom on May 24, 2019 19:06:41 GMT -5
The only answer I have for this question is a bear has a sense of smell stronger than that of a bloodhound. Bears are thought to have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth. For example, the average dog's sense of smell is 100 times better than a humans. A blood hound's is 300 times better. A bear's sense of smell is 7 times better than a blood hound's or 2,100 times better than a human. |
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jun 5, 2019 22:22:25 GMT -5
I always knew Tha bears are somewhere at the top when it comes to smell but this is the first time I have heard that they are at the very top.
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Post by brobear on Aug 14, 2021 2:29:32 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:39:04 GMT -5
Top 10 Interesting Baby Pandas Facts (Q&As) with Photos Written by Candice SongUpdated Oct. 27, 2021 www.chinahighlights.com/giant-panda/baby-panda.htm 1. What is a newborn panda's size? All pandas are born very small. The average weight is 100 grams (0.2 pounds), which is only 1/900 of their mother's weight (compared to about 1/20 for human babies). The lightest one on record was only 36 grams (0.1 pounds) and the heaviest one was 210 grams (0.5 pounds). 2. Why are baby pandas so tiny? Baby pandas are “premature”. Due to pandas’ special physiological structure, the embryo will “wander” in the mother panda's womb for three months after conception so that it is unable to be implanted. This leads to delayed development in their mother's womb (development lasts only one and a half to two months) and the inability to absorb adequate nutrients for what would normally be considered full development by the end of a typical gestation of five months. According to expert Dr Wang Dajun, the tiny birth size is “definitely a result of evolution over millions of years … It is a kind of breeding strategy.” He explained that pandas subsist almost entirely on bamboo, and, “It is easier for the animal to convert bamboo into milk than to convert bamboo into animal tissue.” Hence shorter gestation and longer nursing. |
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:40:42 GMT -5
3. What color is a newborn panda?
Newborn giant pandas are pink and furless. The iconic black and white coloring comes later, after about 3 weeks.
4. How long is a panda pregnant for?
The mating season is in spring between March and May. Males and females usually associate for no more than 2 to 4 days. Pregnancy lasts from 95 to 160 days.
5. When are baby pandas born?
July to September is the period during which mother pandas give birth.
March to May is the "falling in love" period for pandas. A baby panda stays in its mother's uterus for just 3 to 5 months.
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:41:25 GMT -5
6. How baby pandas grow up? A baby panda's growing process is interesting, but very difficult, because they are extremely fragile and can easily get sick and die. At breeding centers 90% of baby pandas survive nowadays, compared to no more than 30% in the 1960s. Read on to see how baby pandas grow up: After 1 week: Blackish hairs start to grow on their ears and around their eyes and shoulders. After 1 month: Black hairs grow all over the neck and chest, and they have bigger dark circles around their eyes. At the same time, white hairs also begin to grow, which give the panda its distinctive black and white look. A month-old panda is around 2 kilograms (4 lb). At 6-8 weeks: They start to open their eyes and grow baby teeth. At 3 months: Their limbs become stronger. They can walk as far as a meter (3 feet), but staggering, and sometimes falling over. They weigh about 5–6 kilograms (11–13 lb) by this time. 6 months: They begin to eat bamboo. At 1 year: Panda cubs are weaned by the time they are one year old, and continue to live with their mothers. A one-year cub is up to 40 kg (88 lb). At 1 and a half year: They live alone without their mother (if the mother mates again). At 5–18 years: They are fertile adults. Over 18 years: Pandas enter old age. Few pandas live over 20 years in the wild.  |
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:43:40 GMT -5
7. How are panda babies born?
Pandas give birth to young, just like other mammals. The birth of a giant panda can be quite painful. The mother panda’s birth orifice is so narrow that the baby panda is ejected like a cannonball!
When a panda cub is born, its mother picks it up in her mouth and holds it in her arms. Some giant panda mothers can't bear the pain and stop giving birth, and their cubs get stuck in their reproductive tracts and suffocate to death. It sounds crazy, but it's still happening.
8. Do panda mothers kill their babies?
No, a panda mother won’t kill her baby directly. But if she has twins in the wild, she will leave the weaker one to perish and choose to raise the stronger cub. The reason for this is that they don't have sufficient milk or energy to care for two cubs.
In a panda breeding center, the staff will rotate the two babies between their mother and the incubator every few hours so that two can be raised.
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:44:50 GMT -5
9. The survival rate of baby pandas is 60% in the wild.
Why are the survival rates of infant pandas so low? Here are some reasons:
1. Cubs are very needy and vulnerable at birth. They are born furless and blind. The limbs of newborn pandas are so weak that they are not able to stand for 3 months.
For 6 months after birth, baby pandas rely entirely on the mother's warmth, milk, and protection.
2. Cubs can be accidentally crushed by their mothers.
3. Decrease in habitat can mean the mother panda has insufficient food to gestate and nurse her cub.
4. In the wild, half of all panda births are twins; however, it is very rare for both cubs to survive as panda mothers are usually only able to raise one at a time and abandon the other twin.
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 6:45:58 GMT -5
10. Can I hold a baby panda?
The best place to see baby pandas is Chengdu Panda Base, which is very close to the downtown area.
If you visit between late August and December, you will have a greater chance of seeing tiny newborns and cuddly babies. The Baby Panda Volunteer Program is currently suspended [October 2021].
But you can take part in one of our Giant Panda volunteer programs. During the program, you can get close to the cute pandas, make their food, and feed them.
1-Day Dujiangyan Panda Volunteer Program Tour
2-Day Wolong Panda Volunteer Program Tour
More giant panda tours
All our tours can be customized. Just Contact us. We will create a trip for your summer vacation according to your group size, time, budget, interests, and other requirements.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Nov 29, 2022 6:55:03 GMT -5
Reply 15. So the weaker cub is left to starve. It is like only the strongest survive.
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Post by brobear on Nov 29, 2022 7:31:15 GMT -5
Reply 15. So the weaker cub is left to starve. It is like only the strongest survive. Yes; the natural world can be both beautiful and harsh. |
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