Seasonal shifts in giant panda feeding behavior: relationships to bamboo plant part consumption

Abstract

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is classified as a carnivore, yet subsists on a diet comprised almost exclusively of bamboo. Wild and captive giant pandas use highly selective foraging behaviors for processing and consuming bamboo. These behaviors are for the first time quantified in captive giant pandas over a 5-year period of time showing highly specific seasonal trends. Giant panda feeding behavior was recorded using live video observations of two giant pandas housed at the Memphis Zoo from November 2003 to June 2008. Leaf was the primary plant part consumed from June to December, whereas culm was consumed primarily from February to May, with both bears displaying similar seasonal shifts in plant part consumption. From May to June, leaf consumption increased significantly (P-values<0.001); from June to August, leaf consumption remained high and stable. From December to March, leaf consumption decreased significantly (P-values<0.001). Specific behaviors for bamboo leaf and culm consumption were also observed. Both bears formed wads of leaves before ingestion while feeding on leaf, but the male employed this feeding behavior more often than the female (54 and 33%, respectively). Both bears used similar culm-stripping behavior (26 and 25%), used to remove the outer layer and isolate the pith for consumption. This study indicates that unique seasonal foraging behaviors observed in wild pandas are also apparent in captive animals in relation to plant part selectivity and feeding behaviors.

Energy digestibility of giant pandas on bamboo‐only and on supplemented diets

“…Hansen et al [2009] found that captive giant pandas at the Memphis Zoo primarily consumed leaves June-December, whereas culm was consumed primarily February-May. It might be that the male panda had not yet switched to eating leaves in trial ]6 (June), whereas the switch had been made by the pandas in trials ]1-3 (August through November).…”

A Diet Diverse in Bamboo Parts is Important for Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Metabolism and Health

“…Due to such factors as season, transportation, weather, etc., captive giant pandas are generally provided with only one species of bamboo. Thus, pandas in captivity primarily eat shoots in spring, leaves in summer and fall, and culms in winter and early spring before the shoots grow in the next cycle 5 . Adult giant pandas are provided with several kinds of bamboo species each year 6–8 .…”

Phenological changes in bamboo carbohydrates explain the preference for culm over leaves by giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) during spring

“…For much of the year, giant pandas feed primarily on the leaves of bamboo. However, giant pandas in some sub-populations have been reported to consume a large proportion of culm during the late winter/early spring months and switch back to leaves in mid- to late June [9, 11, 14, 15]. During the bamboo growth season in spring, shoots are eaten almost exclusively.…”

“…Although changes in foraging behavior for captive and wild giant pandas have been described to be a response to changes in bamboo nutrient composition [9, 11, 15, 16], the nutrient, or combination of nutrients, driving species and plant part selection by giant pandas is largely unknown. At the Memphis Zoo, giant pandas exhibited a dietary preference for culm during spring followed by a dietary shift to greater leaf consumption in mid-summer that was similar to many of their wild counterparts [15, 16].…”

“…At the Memphis Zoo, giant pandas exhibited a dietary preference for culm during spring followed by a dietary shift to greater leaf consumption in mid-summer that was similar to many of their wild counterparts [15, 16]. We hypothesized that this preference for culm by giant pandas during spring serves a nutritional advantage that allows giant pandas to meet their energy requirements of breeding.…”