Giant Pandas

08/09/2020

This month's focus animal is for my Amazingly Artistic Aunty, Andy.
She really loves Pandas...

A bit about them:

The Giant Panda is one of the most recognisable animals on Earth, if not for their iconic black and white patterns, then for their astonishing level of cuteness and clumsiness.
Being shrouded in mystery for much of history, these adorable animals rose to popularity very quickly throughout the 20th century. It also quickly became apparent that their species was ion trouble, being listed as Endangered for most of the time the Western world knew about them.
So lets learn some more about these rare, rotund bears while we can!

(There were too many good photos for this one, so I've included as many as possible, so make sure you check the side of each photo to see if you can rotate through to more!)

Common Name:

Commonly referred to as a 'Panda', however they are more specifically known as Giant pandas.

This is to avoid confusion with Red Pandas.

A red Panda

Red pandas were the first animals to be called 'Panda', the name coming from the Nepalese word for Bamboo; Ponya. But as the West became captivated by the Giant Panda, the name quickly became more relevant to be referencing the big black and white kind of Panda.

Big Black and White kind of Panda

The Chinese characters for Giant Panda translate literally to Bear Cat.

Scientific name:

Ailurapoda Melanoleuca

Or literally translated, Cat foot, black and white.

Closely related to/Family tree:

Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Ursidae
Genus:
Ailurapoda
Species:
Melanoleuca

Up until 1970, Scientists weren't sure if Pandas were related to Bears or Raccoons. But DNA evidence then proved they are officially classified as a Bear. They are equidistant in terms of relatedness to all 7 other Bear species.

Appearance:

Giant pandas stand between 60-90cm tall and 1-2m long with a tail about 15cm long. While this may seem like a short tail, they actually have the second longest tail of the Bear family. As I'm sure almost everyone knows, they have black and white fur, speculated to be a good camouflage for their rocky/snowy habitat.

There is however a subspecies of Panda known as the QingLing Panda, and they have brown spots, where there would usually be black.

The average Panda weighs 100-115Kg, with females weighing less on average. Their rotund stature and fairly low level of activity are indicative of their low nutrient diet.

A group is called:

Sadly a group of Pandas is called an embarrassment of Pandas.

Also known as a cupboard or bamboo of Pandas.

Status:

2007 - 240 pandas in captivity in China - 27 in other countries

2014 - 49 pandas in other countries across 13 countries

Wild population numbers vary with different estimation techniques (From 1500-3000), however where Giant Pandas have been classified as endangered for a long time, they were reclassified as Vulnerable in 2016, confirming their populations overall uptrend thanks to conservation efforts all over the world.

History:

Pandas have a very interesting case of origin, in that.... They don't have one.

Despite their being numerous appearances of bears in Chinese art and literature since ancient China, and bamboo being a popular painting feature, there have been no known representations of Giant Pandas before the 20th Century. They seem to have just been thrust into existence.

There was mention of a mythical creature (Zouyu) in the 15th Century that was as fierce as a Tiger, but strictly vegetarian, sometimes referred to as a white Tiger with black spots and only appeared with a benevolent and righteous ruler.

The West first learnt of Giant Pandas just before the 20th Century when a missionary received a pelt from a hunter.

The first Westerner to see a living Giant Panda was a German Zoologist who purchased a cub in 1916.

In the 1920's, the sons of American president T. Roosevelt, were the first westerners to hunt a Panda.

In 1936, a fashion designer was the first westerner to bring a live panda out of China, a cub named Su-Lin who went to live in Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, USA.

Closely followed in 1938, 5 more pandas were captured from China and brought to Great Britain as the first pandas on British soil. One of which (Ming), became London Zoo's first Panda.

A very special event of China opening trade with the Western world in 1970 begun with Panda diplomacy; The giving of Pandas as gifts to the Western world. By 1984 however, Pandas were no longer purely given as gifts, but rather became items of loan. We'll delve into this further down.

There was much resentment for this loan arrangement initially, as there was no promise that any of the loan money was going to conservation causes. This changed in 1998 when WWF filed a lawsuit against China for their loan arrangement, and the US made it illegal for American Zoos to import Pandas without first guaranteeing that at least half of the loan money would go towards Giant Panda conservation and habitat rehabilitation.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was allowed to conduct conservation based research in China as population numbers were on a dramatic decline. In early 1990's the penalties were severe for any role in the encouragement of Panda deaths. A farmer was given a life sentence for shooting a Panda, and two men caught at the border with panda pelts were given the death sentence. China was not messing around.

By late 1990's however they relaxed a little, as the penalty for poaching was reduced from death sentence to 20-years.

Range:

Pandas are found exclusively in China, a small range found around Sichuan mountain ranges in central Eastern China

Habitat:

Their home is inside evergreen forests, with heavy undershrub of bamboo. Often rocky and patchy terrain, their home is densely vegetated. This, coupled with high elevations give a characteristic shroud of constant mist and moisture to their home.

Feeding style:

Being in the order of Carnivores, Pandas have the physiology of a carnivore, however eat almost an exclusively vegetarian diet of Bamboo. Bamboo makes up 99% of a panda diet, and the typical panda spends at least half of its day eating between 9 and 14Kg. This is because they derive very little energy from this specific diet.

Being carnivorous, pandas aren't born with the appropriate microbes to digest cellulose, and must obtain them from their mothers faeces. With a bite force quotient (BFQ) of 292 (Average dog has a BFQ of 240), the hard stems of bamboo aren't much of a challenge for them. They are so specifically adapted to eat Bamboo that one of their wrist bones has morphed to become a kind of thumb, which helps to hold bamboo for eating. Effectively being six fingered.

Count the 'Fingers'

They will occasionally eat birds, rodents and dead animals.

In captivity they also occasionally get eggs, honey, fish and various fruits. These items can be considered treats for a Panda and as such are common components of Panda birthday cakes.

Predators:

The largest and sadly, only living threat to adult Giant Pandas are humans. Through poaching, climate change and land development, Panda populations are continually under stress and are often referred to as a conservation dependent species.

Panda cubs and juveniles are however, predated on by Snow Leopards, Martens, Eagles, dogs and other Bears.

Habits/behaviours:

Due to the very specific nature of the Giant Pandas diet, they must spend most of their time eating. When they're not eating however, they move between patches of bamboo for a more well-rounded eating experience. No matter how 'well rounded' their eating practices are, they spend most of their time reserving what little energy they get from their diet.

They live solitary nomadic lifestyles, with no permanent den. They also don't hibernate throughout winter, but instead move to warmer elevations. Being loosely described as crepuscular (Active at dawn and dusk), they are truly active at three main times of the day; Dawn, Afternoon and Midnight.

They are well known for being good tempered and docile, but similar to even the most friendly of people, they'll let you know when your irritating them.

Nesting/sleeping/mating:

Female Pandas go into estrus but once a year, every 2 years and for only 2-3 days between March and May. The male Panda must act quick if he is to inseminate her in time.

As they are solitary animals, the males must track the females and communicate with them to ascertain when they will be in estrus. Except they aren't communicating vocally. Like many other animals in our world, Pandas communicate through their urine. Panda pee works like a bit of a notice board or social media. It can give many details, including, how close to estrus the female is. This is due to the hormones that are released into the urine and have relative meanings to the males.

While the actual deed only takes between 5 minutes and 30 seconds, the male Panda may do the deed repetitively to ensure he has given his all; Then leaves for good.

Once fertilised, gestation occurs for 95-160 days and half of Panda pregnancies result in twins!

Sadly survival of the fittest is always relevant and only the strongest cub will survive. The mum can't produce enough milk to sustain both cubs (Thought to be because they don't store fat) and will abandon the weaker one to starve.

(See the 'In Zoos' section below for a happier ending for twins)

For the first week or two, the cub has little or no fur and entirely pink skin. Then they develop grey skin patches where (At around 1 month old)their fur will eventually grow black.

The cub can't even crawl before the first 70 days and as such, the mother must travel for food, which can take 3-4 hours. 3-4 hours where the cub is completely defenseless.

For the first year of the cubs life, mum's milk is the main thing on the menu, however after 6 months, the cub can start enjoying small amounts of bamboo.

After 1.5-2 years of motherly care, the cub splits, and is on its own.

It will be 4-8 years before the cub is mature enough to mate.

In Zoos:

Pandas were first noted being in captivity in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) in the Emperors garden, but were not noted again in Chinese zoos until 1950.

All of the Pandas in the world, Wild or captive, belong to China. As such, all pandas in zoos outside of China are on loan for a hefty price of up to $1M USD per year. This doesn't include the cost of caring for the pandas, and the loan must be renewed yearly. It is also agreed that any cubs born of the Loan Pandas are also property of China, and once they reach the age where they would normally separate from their mother (2 years old), they are returned to China.

As they are officially listed as vulnerable now, the next step is to reintroduce more captive Pandas into the wild. This is a difficult task for any captive animal, as they don't know what it's like outside the zoo walls. But at Hetaoping Conservation Center, China, they've come up with an interesting way to trick the Panda cubs into doing some 'Wild' training.

The main issue with releasing captive bread animals into the wild, is that they are too used to being around humans, so when they are released, they quickly return to human inhabited areas which can be dangerous not only to the humans, but also the animal.

So China's solution is to dress its humans up like Pandas! This provides (Albeit weak) a visual change from human interaction, but unfortunately for the keepers, the suits are also soaked in Panda urine and faeces to make the experience as 'Panda' as possible.

This gives the Panda cubs as good as a wild up bringing as possible, without just chucking them in the mountains and saying good luck.

The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity, born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016.

Panda pregnancies often result in twins and in the wild this means that only the strongest twin will be accepted by the mother. In a more controlled environment however, a little game of swapsies can be played.

The rejected cub is kept warm in blankets, and bottle fed on formula. Once the accepted cub has had a feed from mum, the keepers sneakily distract mum with some snacks to swap out the cubs. Giving the rejected cub a chance to feed directly from mum.

The cubs will breastfeed several times a day, and therefore have to be swapped out often.

Everyone gets valuable mum time!

Not only do Pandas have a hard time finding partners and mating in the wild, but Pandas are notoriously bad at mating in captivity. There have been many documented measures taken to encourage them to go at it. Some 'tricks' include making them watch Panda Porn, giving them Viagra, and even using anal probes to 'promote' climax.

But as much as we joke and laugh about the Pandas struggling to get it on, they have been around for some 20 Million years, so they have to be doing something right.

Cool tricks:

While a Dragon is China's National symbol, the Giant Panda has quite often filled that role.

There is actually a sub-species of Giant Panda called Qinling Pandas. They are exclusively found in the Qinling Mountains in China and have brown patches where black would usually be.

Because of the very high fiber diet of the Giant Panda, they defecate up to 40 times a day. As such, they have a very heavy supply for scientists to investigate their waste as a biofuel source.

Despite Traditional Chinese Medicinal practices, pandas have rarely been thought to have medicinal purposes. Sichuan tribal people have been known to use panda urine to melt accidently swallowed needles and Panda pelts to control menstruation in women.

While a Giant Panda is a bear, they don't roar like other bears. Instead they make calls like a goat or sheep.

Pandas never stop digesting their food, and as such will poo in their sleep.

Pandas are the most expensive animal to be kept at a zoo; Five times as expensive as the 2nd most expensive (Elephants). It ends up worth it, with Pandas being the star attraction at most zoos. Oh, and you help keep a species alive.

Conservation:

As early as the 1960's (Before the Panda was even classified as a bear), Conservation reserves were beginning to appear and Pandas were officially put on the 'No Hunt' list.

Conservation reserves are areas of land where the natural environment and ecosystem of the Giant Panda, including food sources and nesting sites, are under national protection.

Fragmentation of Panda habitats is perpetuated by logging and land development, making it increasingly harder for wild populations to firstly find a mate, but then to avoid inbreeding.

The Chinese government have created many 'Corridors' between segmented habitats, so that previously isolated populations can interact and breed, increasing the genetic variability of the species.

With the WWF adapting the Giant Panda as their logo, the Panda became the literal face of conservation. Thanks to their strong efforts and the efforts of everyone worldwide, Giant Pandas appear to be ok for now.

Donate to Panda Conservation here!

Sources:

https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/giant-panda/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/giant-panda/

https://wwf.panda.org/?13588/History-of-the-Giant-Panda

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giant-panda

https://www.pandasinternational.org/reserves-zoos/

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190516-why-paying-for-pandas-is-not-so-black-and-white

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-essays/2016-09-28/dressing-up-in-a-panda-suit-can-really-make-a-difference