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Primate infants are born in an altricial state and rely on the care of their parents for a relatively long period of time. Parental investment is critical to offspring survival and thus to the reproductive success of the parent as well. However, mothers and infants may experience a conflict of interest, in that infants may benefit by receiving prolonged maternal care but mothers may curtail such care in a tradeoff between investment in current versus future offspring. Documenting life history characteristics, such as age at weaning, is important not only for understanding the conflicts of interest and tradeoffs; such information can also provide insights about female reproductive rates and be valuable for conservation efforts. Little is known about the life history of white-headed langurs ( Trachypithecus leucocephalus), despite their endangered status. We were the first to investigate mother-infant relationships and infant behavioral development in the species. We studied 3 wild mother-infant pairs throughout infancy. We used data from >460 h of focal subject sampling to calculate the proportion of time individuals spent in different behavioral states and the frequency of instantaneous events, such as maternal rejection. White-headed langur infants depended on their mothers for 19–21 mo, at which time they were weaned. Maternal rejection facilitated infant independence in the early stages of infant development, and mothers stopped investing in their infants when they resumed estrus. The weaning age of the wild white-headed langurs we studied was dramatically longer than that of captives, possibly as a result of the nutritional differences between wild and captive populations. Weaning age was also longer than for most other Asian colobines, and may be attributable to the degradation and fragmentation of their natural habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In primates, male–immature interactions are always multifacetted. We studied male–immature interactions of white-headed langur during our long-term study in Nongguan White-Headed Langur Reserve, Guangxi, China. Male–immature interactions obviously differed between one-male groups and male–immature groups. In one-male groups, adult males behaved tolerantly or aggressively towards immatures and never carried out sociopositive behaviors. Sexual selection theory supports this phenomenon because males are predicted to bias to compete for more mating chances but not to invest in any single offspring. In male–immature groups, however, adult males carried out sociopositive behaviors and never behaved aggressively towards immatures. This is supported by kin selection theory because it will be beneficial for the males to increase the survival of the immatures if they are likely the fathers of them. Thus, we conclude that male–immature interactions differ between one-male groups and male–immature groups because the mating status of males are different between the two kinds of groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summarizes the developments in Panda conservation efforts in China. Status of wild giant pandas; George Schaller's emphasis of frustrations of panda conservation in China; Development of a National Conservation Management and Plan for the Giant Panda and its Habitat; World Wide Fund for Nature's support; Recommendations.