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Reintroductions and translocations have proven to be effective measures for rescuing small, isolated populations of endangered wildlife. However, the reproductive status of released wildlife is hard to obtain. To date, a giant panda named Luxin is the only translocated giant panda that has successfully bred in the wild. Using data collected from the GPS collar attached to her, we analysed her activity and home range during a breeding year and compared these values with those collected during a non-breeding (control) year. Delivery and mating days can be identified by extremely low levels of activity or even by the absence of activity. The activity of a giant panda with an infant was low, but it increased gradually after delivery. The activity rates during both the delayed implantation period and the infant-caring period were significantly lower in the breeding year than those in the control year. In the breeding year, the home ranges during the delayed implantation period and pregnancy were larger than those in the control year, while the home range during the infant-caring period was much smaller than that in the control year. Our results suggest that GPS collars embedded with activity sensors can be used to monitor the breeding status of released female giant pandas. They can provide valuable information for decision making in future release projects, providing only small disturbances to released giant pandas.

Reintroduction is a valuable tool for conserving threatened species, and pre-release training is widely considered to be crucial for successful soft-release. However, little is known about how behaviours of pre-released giant panda cubs are affected by their mothers being provided with man-made provisioned food versus mothers that naturally forage. In this study, we monitored two pairs of mother-cub giant panda pairs in Hetaoping, Wolong National Nature Reserve, China. One mother giant panda's diet was supplemented with man-made food and the other had entirely natural foraging conditions. We investigated differences in the cubs' learning ability about habitat selection, their feces abundance, and home range patterns during pre-release training and acclimatization between the two conditions. The results indicate that the cub whose mother had entirely natural food (CN) selected similar microhabitat to its mother (MN). The cub whose mother was supplemented with man-made food (CMF) differed from its mother (MMF) preferring microhabitats with higher proportions of canopy coverage and areas closer to shelter. Compared to natural feeding conditions, provisioning a giant panda mother with man-made food seemed to impact cub microhabitat selection, especially in variables describing the amount of canopy cover, proximity to water resources, and grass coverage. CMF showed no difference in preference between bamboo edge habitat and interior habitat, which differed from other pandas previously studied. Similar to her mother, the home range of CMF was significantly less than CN. Our study suggests that provisioning giant panda with man-made food may hinder behavioural development, such as microhabitat and home range selection, of giant panda cubs during the acclimatization period. We recommend lessening human intervention as much as possible for future pre-release reintroduction training. Anthropogenic interference should be limited as much as possible in pre-release reintroduction training programs and managers should strive to provide conditions similar to those found in the species' natural range in order to provide the highest probability of success for the reintroduced individual.

Translocation is believed to be one of the important methods to protect small and isolated populations of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) from local extinction. Dynamic monitoring of the giant pandas' health statuses after release allows timely rescue measures or termination of the release procedure when necessary, thereby reducing the risk of death. However, it is difficult to diagnose the health of a giant panda after translocation by routine veterinary examinations. Based on data collected from GPS tracking collars, we analyzed the behaviours of six giant pandas after release. We compared the behavioural differences between the giant panda Xuexue (XU), which died due to disease, and four healthy giant pandas after release into the wild to identify a new method to assess the health statuses of giant pandas after release. Our results showed that daily activity levels of the healthy giant pandas were higher than XU after released into the wild; the healthy giant pandas were diurnal, but XU tended to be nocturnal. All healthy giant pandas and XU were not active in the crepuscular phase. These results suggest that daily activity levels and circadian rhythms can be used to assess the health status of giant pandas during the translocation project.

The behavioural adaptation (movement and habitat utilization) of translocated organisms to a new environment after their release is crucial in translocation programs because it may affect survival. Therefore, identifying the factors determining habitat selection by the relocated animals is essential to improving the planning and the outcome of such programs. Using the data from three relocated giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), we studied the habitat utilization, release-site fidelity, and interaction with resident giant pandas. The results showed that the quality of habitat used by the relocated giant pandas was significantly higher than the average habitat quality of the research region, and was significantly lower than that used by resident giant pandas. This suggested that the released three giant pandas had habitat selection abilities. The three released giant pandas gradually moved away from their release sites and did not exhibit site fidelity. In the first six months, the giant pandas stayed within about 3 km of their release sites, where habitat was good quality but overlapped with the distribution of resident giant pandas. The overlap of location between released and resident giant pandas decreased after six months when the released giant pandas moved away from their release sites.