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Post by brobear on Jun 15, 2020 16:11:06 GMT -5
wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/giant_panda/panda/kung_fu_panda_enemies_defences/ Giant pandas face very few predators. A fully grown panda is far too formidable a foe for most predators, but some animals can prey on cubs. Potential predators include jackals, snow leopards and yellow-throated martens, all of which are capable of killing and eating panda cubs. Indeed, the 2008 animated blockbuster Kung Fu Panda tells the story of Po, a panda who is an apprentice noodle-maker and kung-fu fanatic, and whose greatest enemy is Tai Lung: a fierce kung-fu fighting snow leopard. In real life, snow leopards, which are also endangered, share some of the same habitats as the black and white bears and pose a threat to young pandas. Giant pandas are solitary and peaceful animals, which will usually avoid confrontation, but if escape is impossible, they will certainly fight back. And as cuddly as they may look, pandas can protect themselves as well as most other bears by using their physical strength, and powerful jaws and teeth. Pandas can grow up to 1.5m long and weigh as much as 150kg. And while their large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles are designed for crushing bamboo, they can deliver a very nasty bite. In addition, giant panda are excellent climbers, with cubs able to clamber up trees when they are just 6 months old. They can also swim and, unlike most other bears, do not hibernate for months at time during winter. With all these attributes in their arsenal, fully grown giant pandas can defend themselves against most predators. So why are pandas so endangered? The biggest threats to pandas are not their age-old enemies in the wild, but every day human actions. Predators might take the odd cub but humans are the greatest threat to pandas. In particular, pandas are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and by people hunting other animals and harvesting plants in the forests. That's the bad news. The good news is that humans are also the greatest hope for pandas because we can do something about it. No matter where you live, if we all treat our planet better, we can guarantee a brighter future for the giant pandas, the bamboo forests they depend on, and even for ourselves. What WWF is doing to save the panda
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jun 16, 2020 3:24:36 GMT -5
Adult giant pandas have no natural enemies. There is an account of a snow leopard taking down a 2 year old Himalayan brown bear/red bear but a 2 year old bear is not even at sexual maturity and far from full grown.
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Post by King Kodiak on Jun 28, 2020 16:37:08 GMT -5
Innate Predator Recognition in Giant Pandas
Innate predator recognition confers a survival advantage to prey animals. We investigate whether giant pandas exhibit innate predator recognition. We analyzed behavioral responses of 56 naive adult captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), to urine from predators and non-predators and water control. Giant pandas performed more chemosensory investigation and displayed flehmen behaviors more frequently in response to predator urine compared to both non-predator urine and water control. Subjects also displayed certain defensive behaviors, as indicated by vigilance, and in certain cases, fleeing behaviors. Our results suggest that there is an innate component to predator recognition in captive giant pandas, although such recognition was only slight to moderate. These results have implications that may be applicable to the conservation and reintroduction of this endangered species.
www.researchgate.net/publication/221804508_Innate_Predator_Recognition_in_Giant_Pandas
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Post by brobear on Apr 7, 2021 18:01:17 GMT -5
There are no large predators within the home range of the extremely rare giant panda. But, giant pandas were once much more widespread than they are today. An adult male weighs from 220 to 250 pounds. I believe that he could successfully defend himself from a leopard or other similar-sized big cat ( a panther ). But he would stand little chance against a lion or a tiger. A Pantanal Jaguar vs giant panda is debatable.
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Post by King Kodiak on Apr 7, 2021 18:55:55 GMT -5
Sure is, lets see what we have. From the general info that we have, Pandas average somewhere between 220 and 250 lbs. Pantanal jaguars average around 220 lbs, so the weight wont be a factor in this fight.
PC2-VALUE-GRAPPLING ABILITY (THE LOWER THE SCORE THE BETTER)
Giant Panda: -6.034 Jaguar: -1.713
domainofthebears.proboards.com/post/26724/thread
BFQ AT THE CANINE TIPS:
Giant Panda - 151.4 at the canine tips Jaguar - 118.6 at the canine tips
domainofthebears.proboards.com/post/26903/thread
ML DIAMETERS OF ALL FOUR MAJOR LIMB BONES:
Jaguar - 40.38% Giant Panda - 37.43%
domainofthebears.proboards.com/post/26686/thread
So weight is not a factor in this fight. The panda is a better grappler (second best advantage after weight in my opinion), and has a higher bite force. The jaguar has more robust limbs. The jaguar is definitely more aggressive, its faster and more agile. The Panda has more stamina.
All this makes me believe this fight is 50% but it can definitely be 60% in favour of the Panda just because of the grappling advantage.
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Post by Montezuma on Apr 7, 2021 20:43:33 GMT -5
The chinese tiger may be a predator of the Gaint panda when tigers were found numerous.
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2021 3:26:41 GMT -5
With the giant panda, we have the a similar problem as we have with the gorilla. We have nothing caught on camera or by reliable eye-witness which would reveal the fighting ability of a giant panda. Most people simply assume that this cuddly teddy bear ( for lack of better wording ) is a wuss. But this idea comes from nothing more than its cuddly appearance. *Back in my marine corps days, we had a term for any big over-sized guy who was anything but a tough guy - "panda puss".
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2021 4:41:13 GMT -5
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda Predators Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs are vulnerable to attacks by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens, eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb) may be vulnerable to predation by leopards. The giant panda has luxuriant black-and-white fur. Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 metres (3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches) long, including a tail of about 10–15 cm (4–6 in), and 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb). Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb). The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb). The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca; also known as the panda bear or simply the panda, is a bear native to South Central China. *Asiatic black bear that comes into contact with the giant panda - possibly Inchochinese black bear?
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Post by King Kodiak on Apr 8, 2021 6:38:45 GMT -5
That's correct, Ursus thibetanus mupinensis:
Range: Eastern Himalaya, Indochina, Southwestern China and Szechuan, China (see map). It is uncertain how far west in to the Himalaya this subspecies is found and there may well be inter-breeding with U.t. laniger
www.bearconservation.org.uk/indochinese-black-bear/
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2021 7:00:01 GMT -5
Asiatic black bear - boar: 270 pounds. Giant panda - The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb). Asiatic black bear - normal max - 440 pounds. Giant panda normal max - 350 pounds. *Even though the Asiatic will usually have a distinctive size advantage over the panda, I would wager he normally preys upon juveniles and perhaps the occasional she-panda. However, a big 440 pound boar black bear might challenge a male giant panda within the 200-pound range.
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Post by King Kodiak on Apr 8, 2021 7:08:21 GMT -5
Never heard of an Asiatic black bear preying on pandas to be honest.
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2021 7:11:15 GMT -5
Never heard of an Asiatic black bear preying on pandas to be honest. From Wiki - Predators Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs are vulnerable to attacks by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens, eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb) may be vulnerable to predation by leopards. *They are stating cubs actually. *I tend to forget; we're not talking about a grizzly here.
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Post by King Kodiak on Apr 8, 2021 7:15:21 GMT -5
Yes, it says they are "vulnerable". But am saying we have never seen an actual predation account.
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Post by brobear on Apr 8, 2021 7:32:30 GMT -5
Interesting find - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-throated_marten The yellow-throated marten is a diurnal hunter, which usually hunts in pairs, but may also hunt in packs of three or more. It preys on rats, mice, hares, snakes, lizards, eggs and ground nesting birds such as pheasants and francolins. It is reported to kill cats and poultry. It has been known to feed on human corpses, and was once thought to be able to attack an unarmed man in groups of 3 to 4. The yellow-throated marten may prey on small ungulates. In the Himalayas and Burma, it is reported to frequently kill muntjac fawns, while in Ussuriland the base of its diet consists of musk deer, particularly in winter. The young of larger ungulate species are also taken, but within a weight range of 10 to 12 kg. In winter, the yellow-throated marten hunts musk deer by driving them onto ice. Two or three yellow-throated martens can consume a musk deer carcass in 2 to 3 days. Other ungulate species preyed upon by the yellow-throated marten include young wapiti, spotted deer, roe deer and goral. Wild boar piglets are also taken on occasion. It may prey on panda cubs and smaller marten species, such as sables. In areas where it is sympatric with tigers, the yellow-throated marten may trail them and feed on their kills. Like other martens, it supplements its diet with nectar and fruit, and is therefore considered to be an important seed disperser. The yellow-throated marten has few predators, but occasionally may fall foul of much larger carnivores; remains of sporadic individuals have turned up in the scat or stomachs of Siberian tigers and Asian black bears.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Apr 12, 2021 0:19:33 GMT -5
Yellow throat martens do not prey on adult giant pandas either. Only subadults or cubs.
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Post by Montezuma on Apr 12, 2021 0:41:05 GMT -5
Yellow throat martens do not prey on adult giant pandas either. Only subadults or cubs. An adult panda is just too much big for the little foe. A adult make gaint panda is the king of its bamboo forest which both snow leopards and leopards know.
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Post by brobear on Apr 12, 2021 2:58:09 GMT -5
Yellow throat martens do not prey on adult giant pandas either. Only subadults or cubs. An adult panda is just too much big for the little foe. A adult make gaint panda is the king of its bamboo forest which both snow leopards and leopards know. Through this topic, I have learned that there are no true-leopards within the realm of the giant panda. And to be clear, no tigers either.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Apr 30, 2021 6:25:04 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Apr 30, 2021 6:49:06 GMT -5
*Fake News: Reply #17 is crap. If a leopard did kill a sub-adult giant panda, this would not put a feather in anyone's hat. However, there are no leopards living within the domain of the giant panda. Aggressive encounters between dholes and a giant panda. Are there dholes in the giant panda's domain? I don't know. Nevertheless, this has little meaning. Leopards kill sloth bears in Sri Lanka. Obviously, sloth bear cubs. *The classification of giant pandas has long been a subject of controversy. The choices: ( 1 ) with bears (family Ursidae), ( 2 ) with raccoons (Procyonidae), ( 3 ) or in a family of their own (Ailuridae). Personally, I consider them ( Ailuridae ) bear-like mammals.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Apr 30, 2021 11:19:29 GMT -5
No record of leopards killing mature sloth bears. One record of a spotted cat killing a sub adult female sloth bear, the same leopard also died.
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