Conservation Ecology and Behavior of Wild Giant
Panda Populations

In 2006, CRES launched an in situ program for giant pandas that builds on its 10 years of experience in the captive sector. The aim of this emerging program is to conduct a long-term intensive research program on the conservation behavior and ecology of giant pandas at the Foping Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province, China. Each research question addresses a specific conservation issue and has identifiable conservation value.

1. To benefit panda conservation, it is important to learn about the mating strategies of pandas. For example, how many male pandas win the opportunity to mate?

If few males get to mate because of male-male competition or female choice, then there are greater risks to the long-term genetic health of the population. If most males fail to pass on their genes, then small populations isolated on mountaintops may suffer from inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity. Most wild populations are quite small due to encroaching human activities and habitat loss. The mating system can exacerbate this problem and may need to be managed in cases where genetic diversity is threatened. To meet this objective requires knowledge of the behavioral processes involved in mating strategies, especially the role of communication, a subject of study by the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of CRES for the past decade.

2. How far will dispersing pandas move, and how do they choose where to settle? What habitats are they willing to traverse through?

Answers to these questions are instrumental for determining the degree of gene flow through a network of isolated reserves, whether pandas will use “habitat corridors,” and what cues need to be present (or placed by managers) to encourage settlement in suitable habitat. It is important to learn about dispersal, when the young move long distances and set up a new home area elsewhere. Dispersal strategies also affect the genetics of the population and determine whether reserve size and shape are sufficient to accommodate normal dispersal.

3. Does the availability of dens limit panda population growth? What are the cavity and microhabitat characteristics that determine whether a female will use a potential den? In a time of crisis, is it possible to build artificial dens that will help mothers raise cubs successfully?

In many reserves, the old-growth trees were logged in past decades, and the remaining trees are too small to contain a den for pandas to give birth. This program will be conducted hand in hand with Chinese nationals involved in policy making and conservation implementation to ensure that the important conservation implications from these studies will actually be applied both at the policy and implementation level. Throughout the program, feedback will remain two-way, with the CRES team listening to the advice and needs of its conservation partners in the regulatory agencies.