Jianjun PENG, Zhigang JIANG, Qunce HUANG, Guangyong QIN, Yuxiao LI, Zhen JIAO, Fengqiu ZHANG

The Influence of Activity Space on the Behavior of Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in Captivity

We studied the impact of activity space on the estrous behaviors of 11 healthy adult female and 3 adult male giant pandas with natural mating ability from the Beijing, Lanzhou, and Chengdu Zoos, and the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center during their non-mating and mating seasons from November of 1999 to May of 2003. We compared the frequencies of estrous behavior and activities of giant pandas that were kept in activity spaces of various sizes during their estrous period. We found that the frequency of estrous behavior and other activities of the female and male giant pandas kept in a large activity space were significantly higher than those of the pandas kept in small pens (P < 0.05). When the giant pandas were kept in small pens (< 12 m2), estrous behavior occurred less frequently. Once the captive giant pandas were released into a larger playground (> 200 m2), their estrous behaviors were expressed at higher frequencies. If the giant pandas were again confined in small pens, the frequency of their estrous behaviors would decrease. This reversibility of estrous behavior of the giant pandas proved that a small activity space suppressed the estrous behavior of giant pandas in captivity and that the elasticity of their estrous behavior was great. Therefore, providing larger activity spaces to giant pandas in captivity will enable them to fully express their behaviors, especially estrous behavior.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), activity space, behavioral elasticity, behavioral rigidity, estrous behavior

The Influence of Activity Space on the Behavior of Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in Captivity

Keywords:

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), activity space, behavioral elasticity, behavioral rigidity, estrous behavior,

PDF

___

Bonney, R.C., Wood, D.J. and Kleiman, D.J. 1982. Endocrine correlates of behavioral oestrus in the female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and associated hormonal changes in the male. J. Reprod. Fertil. 64: 209-215.
Campbell, S. 1980. Is reintroduction a realistic goal? In: Conservation Biology, An Evolutionary-Ecological Perspective (Eds., M.E. Soulè, and B.A. Wilcox), Sinauer Associates, Inc., Massachusetts, pp. 263-269.
Carlstead, K. 1996. Effects of captivity on the behavior of wild mammals. In: Wild Mammals in Captivity, Principles and Techniques (Eds., D.G. Kleiman, M.E. Allen, K.V. Thompson and S. Lumpkin), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 317-333.
Chaudhuri, M., Kleiman, D.G., Wildt, D.E., Bush, M., Frank, E.S. and Thau, R.B. 1988. Urinary steroid concentrations during natural and gonadotropin-induced oestrus and pregnancy in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). J. Repro. Fertil. 84: 23-28.
Chen, M., Zhang, G., Mainka and S.A. 1994. Semen evaluation of giant panda at Wolong Reserve. Zoo Biol. 13: 83-86.
Dierenfeld, E.S., Qiu, X., Mainka, S.A. and Liu, W. 1995. Giant panda diets fed in five Chinese facilities: An assessment. Zoo Biol. 14: 211-222.
Ding, B., Zhang, Y. and Ryder, O.A. 1998. Extraction, PCR amplification, and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA from scent mark and feces in the giant panda. Zoo Biol. 17: 499-504.
Gao, F., Bu, H., Zhao, Y., Lu, B. and Wu, S. 1994. Observation on sex behaviour of male giant panda during breeding season. Acta Theriologica Sinica 14: 81-85.
Hardy, I.C.W. and Krackow, S. 1995. Does sex appeal to zoos? TREE 10: 478-479.
Hodges, J.K., Bevan, D.J., Celma, M., Hearn, J.P., Jones, D.M., Kleiman, D.J., Knight, J.A. and Moore, H.D.M. 1984. Aspects of the reproductive endocrinology of the detection of ovulation and pregnancy. J. Zool. 203: 253-267.
Hu, J. 1990. Study and Progress in Biology of Giant Panda, Sichuan Sci. & Tech. Press, Chengdu.
Hu, J., Schaller, G.B., Pan, W. and Zhu, J. 1985. Wolong’s Giant Panda. Sichuan Sci. & Tech. Press, Chengdu.
Hu, J. 1988. Study on the reproductive ecology of the giant panda. J. Nanchong Teachers College. 9: 79-83.
Hu, J. 1997. Existing circumstances and prospect of the giant panda. J. Sichuan Teachers College. 18: 129-133.
Jiang, Z., Li, C., Peng, J. and Hu, H. 2001. Behavioural structure, elasticity, and expression space and the diversity of animal behaviour. Biodiversity. 9: 265-274.
Jiang, Z. 2000. Behaviour coding and ethogram of the P®®re David’s deer. Acta Theriologica Sinica. 20: 1-12.
Kleiman, D.G., Karesh, W.B. and Chu, P.R. 1979. Behavioural changes associated with oestrus in the giant panda. International Zoo Yearbook. 19: 217-223.
Kleiman, D.G. 1983. Ethology and reproduction of captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. 62: 1- 46.
Kleiman, D.G. 1985. Social and reproductive behaviors of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Bongo. 10: 45-58.
Li, F., Peng, S., Ye, Z., He, G. and Huang, X. 1993. Change of progesterone and 17_ –estradiol level in urine of female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and its relation with mating. Acta Theriologica Sinica. 13: 166-171.
Lindburg, D.G, Huang, X. and Huang, S. 1997. Reproductive performance of male giant panda in Chinese Zoos. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Protection of Giant Panda, Chengdu, China 1997 (Eds., A. Zhang and G. He), Sichuan Sci. & Tech. Press, Chengdu, pp. 65-71.
Lindburg, D.G, Czekala, N.M and Swaisgood, R.R. 2001. Hormonal and behavioral relationships during estrus in the giant panda. Zoo Biol. 20: 537-543.
Liu, D.Z, Fang, J.M, Sun, R.Y, Zhang, G.Q, Wei, R.P and Zhang, H.M. 1998. Behavioral comparison in individuals of different sexual ability in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Acta Zoologica Sinica. 44: 27-34.
Liu, D., Wang, Z., Tian, H., Yu, C., Zhang, G., Wei, R. and Zhang, H. 2003. Behavior of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in captive conditions: gender differences and enclosure effects. Zoo Biol. 22: 77-82.
Mainka, S.A. and Zhang, H. 1994. Daily activity of giant pandas at Wolong Reseve. Zoo Biol. 13: 13-20.
Maple, T.L., Perkins and Synder, R.J. 1997. The Role of Environmental and Social Variables in the Management of Apes and Pandas. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Protection of the Giant Panda, Chengdu, China, pp. 19-21.
Masui, M., Hiramatsu, H., Nose, N., Nakazato, R., Sagawa, Y., Tajima, H. and Saito, K. 1989. Successful artificial insemination in the giant panda at Ueno Zoo. Zoo Biol. 8: 17-26.
Peng, J., Jiang, Z., Qin, G., Huang, Q., Li, Y., Zhang, F., Jiao, Z., Zhang J. and Lu, Y. 2006. Mate choice in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Belg. J. Zool. (accepted).
Peng, J., Jiang, Z., Liu, W., Huang, S., Zhang, J. and Wang, W. 2001a. Growth and development of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) cubs at Beijing Zoo. J. Zool. 254: 261-266.
Peng, J., Jiang, Z. and Hu, J. 2001b. Status and conservation of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): a review. Folia Zoologica. 50: 81-88.
Schaller, G.B., Hu, J., Pan, W. and Zhu, J. 1985. Wolong’s Giant Panda. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Schaller, G.B. 1993. The Last Panda. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Seal, U.S. 1988. Intensive technology in the care of ex situ populations if vanishing species. In: Biodiversity (Eds., E.O. Wilson and F.M. Peter), National Academy Press, Washington, D. C.
Seidensticker, J. and Doherty, J.G. 1996. Integrating animal behavior and exhibit design. In: Wild Mammals in Captivity, Principles and Techniques (Eds., D.G. Kleiman, M.E. Allen, K.V. Thompson and S. Lumpkin), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 180-190.
Snyder, R.J., Lawson, D.P., Zhang, A., Zhang, Z., Luo, L., Zhong, W., Huang, X., Czekala, N.M., Bloomsmith, M.A. and Forthman, D.L. 2004. Reproduction in giant pandas: Hormones and behavior. In: Giant pandas: Biology and Conservation (Eds., D. Lindburg and K. Baragona), University of California Press, Berkeley, California, pp. 125-132.
Swaisgood, R.R., White, A.M., Zhou, X., Zhang, H., Zhang, G., Wei, R., Hare, V.J., Tepper, E.M. and Lindburg, D.G. 2001. A quantitative assessment of the efficacy of an environmental enrichment programme for giant pandas. Animal Behav. 61: 447-457.
Swaisgood, R.R., Zhou, X., Zhang, G., Lindburg, D.G. and Zhang, H. 2003. Application of behavioral knowledge to giant panda conservation. International Journal of Comparative Psychology 16: 65-84.
Wilson, M., Kelling, A., Poline, L., Bloomsmith, M. and Maple, T. 2003. Post-occupancy evaluation of Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda conservation center: staff and visitor reactions. Zoo Biol. 22: 365-382.
Ye, Z. 1984. Preliminary observation on sex behaviour of giant panda. Chinese J. Zool. 19: 11-13.
Zeng, G., Jiang, G., Liu, W., Xie, Z. and Liu, L. 1994. Annually change of progesterone and 17_ –estradiol level in urine of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Acta Zoologica Sinica. 40: 333-336.
Zeng, G., Jiang, G., Yang, K., Liu, W., Xie, Z. and Liu, L. 1990. Study on reproductive biology of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): I. Change of lutropin, progesterone and 17_ –estradiol level in blood serum and urine of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) during estrous period. Acta Zoologica Sinica. 36: 63-69.
Zeng, G., Meng, Z., Jiang, G., He, G. and Xu, Q. 1984. Change of estrogen level in urine of female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and its relation with estrous behaviour. Acta Zoologica Sinica. 30: 324-330.
Zhang, Y., Ryder, O.A, Zhao, Q., Fan, Z., He, G., Zhang, A., Zhang, H., He, T. and Cheng, Y. 1994. Non-invasive giant panda paternity exclusion. Zoo Biol. 13: 569-573.
Zhang, G., Zhang, H., Cheng, M., He, T., Wei, R. and Mainka, S.A. 1996. Growth and development of infant giant pandas at the Wolong Reserve, China. Zoo Biol. 15: 13-19.
Zhang, G., Swaisgood, R.R. and Zhang, H. 2004. Evaluation of behavioral factors influencing reproductive success and failure in captive giant pandas. Zoo Biol. 23: 15-31.