Breeding of the Giant Panda Bear - Research Paper Example

Breeding of the Giant Panda Bear The panda is also called the giant panda to differentiate it from the red panda which is unrelated. This is a bear breed found in south western and central western China. The giant panda can be identified by the sizeable, unique black patches on its face, around the body, and its ears. The giant panda consumes bamboo despite belonging to the carnivorous group. Occasionally, giant pandas living in the forest consume meat in the form of carrion, rodents, or birds, wild tubers, and other grasses. Those that are held in areas for example, zoos, may eat specially cooked food, honey, bananas, eggs, oranges, fish, or yams. In addition, the giant panda’s habitat is located in mountain ranges, in central China. The giant panda has been forced to move out of lowland areas because of deforestation, farming, and other activities in the area (Lumpkin and Seidensticker 16). Currently, it is an endangered species. This paper will look at breeding of the giant panda bear. Giant pandas have a height of approximately two to three feet and may measure four to six feet in length. Male giant pandas are heavier and larger than female giant pandas. They can weigh 250 pounds while female giant pandas weigh below 220 pounds. The World Conservation Union has listed the giant panda as one of the endangered species in its Red List of Threatened Species. There are approximately 1600 giant pandas remaining in their natural habitats (Lumpkin and Seidensticker 25). Over 300 giant pandas stay in breeding centers and zoos all over the globe, ordinarily in China. Researchers are not certain of the existence of giant pandas in their natural habitat, but they are certain the lifespan of the giant pandas is longer in the natural habitat than in the breeding centers and zoos. They live for about 35 years in the zoo. Hsing-Hsing, a giant panda living in the Chinese National Zoo, perished at the age of 28. In the beginning, the key technique of breeding giant pandas in confinement was through artificial insemination. This is because giant pandas lost their concern in mating after they were taken into confinement. This lack of concern has led a number of scientists to try new methods that will make giant pandas mate. For example, scientists have tried giving male giant pandas Viagra and also displaying videos of them mating. Nonetheless, it is in recent times that investigators have had accomplishments with breeding programs of captive male giants (Schaller 23). Current research shows that the breeding rate is one giant panda reproduced after every two years. Giant pandas attain sexual maturity between four to eight years. In addition, sexual activity in giant pandas may reach 20 years. During sexual activity, the female giant panda position’s itself in a crouching position with its head in a downward location. This allows the male giant panda mount her from the back. The time for copulation is short. It lasts for between thirty seconds and five minutes (Ryder 14). Nonetheless, a male giant panda may mount a female giant panda for a number of occasions to guarantee successful fertilization. If the female giant panda gives birth to twin cubs, only one of the two will continue to exist in the harsh conditions. The female giant panda will choose the stronger of the two new born cubs, and the frail cub will perish. The female giant panda cannot provide sufficient milk for both the new born cubs. This is because female giant pandas do not amass fat. In contrast, male giant pandas do not assist in raising the cubs. Female giant pandas take almost 95 to 160 days to give birth after mating. The female giant may reproduce two young pandas but only a single one survives. Giant panda young ones may live with their mothers for approximately three years before living on their own. It can be presumed a female giant panda gives birth to a young one once in a year. The mating period lies between the months of March and May. This is a period when the female giant panda undergoes estrus. This period lasts between two to three days (Lumpkin and Seidensticker 26). A newly born cub is hairless, pink in color, toothless, and blind. A cub cannot see until the sixth or eighth week after birth. They also cannot move until after three months (Friends of the National Zoo 23). A young giant panda also feeds on the breast of its mother for up to fourteen occasions daily, for almost thirty minutes on every occasion. After six months, the young giant pandas can consume small amounts of bamboos. Through the first years of breeding, the mother’s milk is the key source of food for the young giant pandas. It is also nutritionally fed for a year and socially weaned after two years. The duration between births of giant pandas in their natural habitat is approximately two years. Life in confinement for giant pandas is different from that in a natural habitat. There is a maximum of one or two breeding pandas in a natural habitat. This permits male giant pandas not to battle for female giant pandas. Male giant pandas and female giant pandas frequently reside in different areas until the female giant panda is prepared to breed. Moreover, female pandas living in their natural habitats pay attention to their cubs for almost one and half years, and they are not reproductive during this period. Giant pandas in captive are separated from their mothers with the expectation that their mothers will get pregnant quickly (Lumpkin and Seidensticker 29). In contrast, this may cause a change in behavior, for example, reluctance of giant pandas in breeding. There are also a number of breeding challenges that create a risk of giant pandas being extinct. First, the physiology of giant pandas makes it difficult for pandas in captivity to breed. Female giant pandas encounter estrus for approximately twelve to twenty five days every spring. During this time, they are amenable to mating for between two and seven days. This shows they have a short period for conception. Second, they have experienced a reduction in the gene pool causing a development of mutant and recessive traits. Works Cited Friends of the National Zoo. Panda Cam: A Nation Watches Tai Shan the Panda Cub Grow. New York: Fireside Books, 2006. Print. Lumpkin, Susan, and John Seidensticker. Giant Pandas. Colorado: Collins, 2007. Print. Ryder, Joanne. Little Panda: The World Welcomes Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print. Schaller, George B. The Last Panda. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. Print. Read More