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Knowledge of energy expenditure informs conservation managers for long term plans for endangered species health and habitat suitability. We measured field metabolic rate (FMR) of free-roaming giant pandas in large enclosures in a nature reserve using the doubly labeled water method. Giant pandas in zoo like enclosures had a similar FMR (14,182 kJ/day) to giant pandas in larger field enclosures (13,280 kJ/day). In winter, giant pandas raised their metabolic rates when living at − 2.4 °C (36,108 kJ/day) indicating that they were below their thermal neutral zone. The lower critical temperature for thermoregulation was about 8.0 °C and the upper critical temperature was about 28 °C. Giant panda FMRs were somewhat lower than active metabolic rates of sloth bears, lower than FMRs of grizzly bears and polar bears and 69 and 81% of predicted values based on a regression of FMR versus body mass of mammals. That is probably due to their lower levels of activity since other bears actively forage for food over a larger home range and pandas often sit in a patch of bamboo and eat bamboo for hours at a time. The low metabolic rates of giant pandas in summer, their inability to acquire fat stores to hibernate in winter, and their ability to raise their metabolic rate to thermoregulate in winter are energetic adaptations related to eating a diet composed almost exclusively of bamboo. Differences in FMR of giant pandas between our study and previous studies (one similar and one lower) appear to be due to differences in activity of the giant pandas in those studies.

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) were historically hunted using dogs and are currently threatened by free-roaming dogs and their associated diseases. To better understand the spatial magnitude of this threat, we used a GIS approach to investigate edge effects of dogs on giant panda habitat. We first examined two nature reserves with contrasting free-roaming dog populations: Liziping, with many dogs (~0.44/km2), and Daxiangling, with few dogs (~0.14/km2). Spatial analysis indicated that giant pandas at Liziping (but not Daxiangling) showed a shift in habitat use away from populated areas consistent with a risk response to the foray distance of free-roaming dogs (10.9 km path-distance). Most giant panda locations (86%) from the 2014 census in Liziping were clustered around remote “dog-free zones.” Expanding this analysis across the entire giant panda range revealed that 40% of panda habitat is within the foray distance of dogs. Our assessment will inform dog control programs including monitoring, education, veterinary care, and other measures. We recommend that reserves designated for the release of translocated pandas receive priority consideration for dog control efforts. Only by understanding and managing complex interactions between humans, domestic animals, and wild animals can we sustain natural systems in a world increasingly dominated by humans.

Previous studies have shown that giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) can discriminate face-like shapes, but little is known about their cognitive ability with respect to the emotional expressions of humans. We tested whether adult giant pandas can discriminate expressions from pictures of half of a face and found that pandas can learn to discriminate between angry and happy expressions based on global information from the whole face. Young adult pandas (5–7 years old) learned to discriminate expressions more quickly than older individuals (8–16 years old), but no significant differences were found between females and males. These results suggest that young adult giant pandas are better at discriminating emotional expressions of humans. We showed for the first time that the giant panda, can discriminate the facial expressions of humans. Our results can also be valuable for the daily care and management of captive giant pandas.

Few studies have focused on the mountain ranges scale effects of roads on wildlife. This lack of data could lead to an underestimation of the negative impact of roads on animal populations. We analyzed a dataset that included 74.4% of the giant panda population and covered 78.7% of the global giant panda habitat to estimate road-effect zones for major roads, and to investigate how these major roads influenced the distribution of giant pandas on a mountain range spatial scale. We found that the density of giant panda signs was significantly decreased by proximity to major roads. The effect zone reached 5,000 m from national roads and 1,500 m from provincial roads. Structural equation model analysis revealed that the strongest negative impact of major roads on giant pandas was via the reduction of nearby forest cover. The results should provide a better understanding of the impact of anthropogenic infrastructure and regional economic development on wildlife, thus providing a basis for conservation policy decisions. We suggest that the environmental impact assessment of proposed roadways or further researches on road ecological effects should expand to a larger scale and consider the possible habitat degradation caused by road access.

The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction.

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 27248; published online: 06 June 2016; updated: 21 September 2016

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The giant panda is an icon of conservation and survived a large-scale bamboo die off in the 1980s in China. Captive breeding programs have produced a large population in zoos and efforts continue to reintroduce those animals into the wild. However, we lack sufficient knowledge of their physiological ecology to determine requirements for survival now and in the face of climate change. We measured resting and active metabolic rates of giant pandas in order to determine if current bamboo resources were sufficient for adding additional animals to populations in natural reserves. Resting metabolic rates were somewhat below average for a panda sized mammal and active metabolic rates were in the normal range. Pandas do not have exceptionally low metabolic rates. Nevertheless, there is enough bamboo in natural reserves to support both natural populations and large numbers of reintroduced pandas. Bamboo will not be the limiting factor in successful reintroduction.

Habitat fragmentation can reduce population viability, especially for area-sensitive species. The Minimum Area Requirements (MAR) of a population is the area required for the population’s long-term persistence. In this study, the response of occupancy probability of giant pandas against habitat patch size was studied in five of the six mountain ranges inhabited by giant panda, which cover over 78% of the global distribution of giant panda habitat. The probability of giant panda occurrence was positively associated with habitat patch area, and the observed increase in occupancy probability with patch size was higher than that due to passive sampling alone. These results suggest that the giant panda is an area-sensitive species. The MAR for giant panda was estimated to be 114.7 km2 based on analysis of its occupancy probability. Giant panda habitats appear more fragmented in the three southern mountain ranges, while they are large and more continuous in the other two. Establishing corridors among habitat patches can mitigate habitat fragmentation, but expanding habitat patch sizes is necessary in mountain ranges where fragmentation is most intensive.