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Giant Pandas Have Their Own 'Facebook' To Chat To Other Bears

Scientists have discovered that the giant panda, long considered a bit of a loner, has a surprisingly active social life, communicating with friends and family in a way that's akin to sharing status updates on Facebook.

It's a new insight into the everyday lives of these shy and elusive bears (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which were previously thought to be a shy, solitary and rather antisocial species.

In the study on bears in China's Wolong Nature Reserve, Michigan State University (MSU) researchers focused instead on the trees, because it was on certain trees the animals would leave scent signals for others. And the messages turned out to be surprisingly complex.

"Once you've gotten an eye for it, you can see on ridge tops and different trails the scent-marking trees, which are stained with a waxy substance – and the pandas seem to be doing this a lot," said lead author Thomas Connor. "It was pretty evident they were exchanging information through scent-marking behavior."

While scent marking is not a new phenomenon – anyone who has walked a dog that insists on stopping at every post along the way will know this well – this study reveals that there's a lot more going on with panda communication than earlier thought.

"These scent trees are a social media," said Ken Frank, a professor of sociometrics at MSU. "Like Facebook, it's asynchronous, meaning you don't have to be in the same place at the same time. It allows one to broadcast to many, and it's a record. A panda marking a tree isn't so different from a Facebook post."

While they may not be posting about conspiracy theories or sharing cat memes like a human social media network, the pandas can let others known they frequent the territory by 'checking in' to that tree, and they can leave details about sex, age, breeding status, personality and physical size.

The researchers, who built on earlier MSU work that tracked the movements of five pandas from 2010 to 2012 in the reserve, confirmed their social media theory by analyzing panda poop to untangle the communication networks. With a single adult panda pooping somewhere between 40 and 90 times each day, there was an abundance of scat available for testing, and its prevalence could also help establish tree-marking timelines.

The team extracted DNA from fresh scat collected across 46 square kilometers (17.8 square miles) to identify individual pandas and determine if they were related to others stopping by the same trees to 'post'.

"We defined two panda individuals within a certain distance from each other as an association," Connor said. "Even if they're not directly communicating or running into each other physically – they can exchange information in the chemical scent signature. That built up the social network for the analysis."

Then, the bears present in any given area could then be looked at through a social network analysis method known as clique detection.

"It's pretty much like high school," Frank said. "And like in high school, cliques have lots of implications. There are strong norms within a clique – and while encountering those outside a clique is rare, the information can be very important."

By smelling a marked tree, a panda can determine if it's met the posters before, and pick up other cues such as sex, dominance, size and whether they're ready for mating – all traits that can help another individual 'read the room' without being in the presence of another bear.

And, interestingly, the researchers discovered that panda behavior changed throughout the year. The animals preferred to communicate with close family members for most of the time, but when breeding season arrived, there was much more chatter from new connections. The scientists believe this is both to mark territory, using the trees like a map, and to discourage inbreeding and energy-sapping, risky mate competition.

Given that a female panda has a small annual window where breeding can be successful – somewhere between 24 and 72 hours – effective communication is crucial, particularly for a species that, for the most part, likes to be on their own a lot of the time.

"The discoveries in this study shed new light on how pandas use their habitat," said senior author Jianguo Liu from MSU. "Pandas are a part of coupled human and natural systems where humans share their habitat. Anything we can learn about how they live and what they need can ultimately help inform good conservation policies and maybe understand our own behavior a little more.

The research was published in the journal Ursus.

Source: Michigan State University

Homecoming Wave: World's Panda Lovers Bid A Giant Farewell With Tears, Great Memories

Tokyo-born female giant panda Xiang Xiang is shown to the Japanese press at a giant panda research center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on November 7, 2023. Photo: VCG

After a 9-hour and 11-minute flight, the UK's only pair of giant pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian, safely arrived at the Chengdu Shuangliu Airport at 6:50 am on Tuesday.

After three years of the pandemic, many pandas, whose returns were delayed due to epidemic prevention, have boarded planes back home this year. Statistics show that over a dozen pandas have returned to their native homeland from various parts of the world in 2023. Some of them reached maturity and are ready to mate.

On Monday, Yang Guang and Tian Tian, who had been living in Scotland for 12 years, embarked on their journey back home from the Edinburgh Zoo. Early in the morning, the Edinburgh Zoo was bustling as staff carefully transported the crates containing the pair of pandas to a truck and securely fastened them.

Media reported that to acclimatize the pandas to the crate, the zoo had conducted adaptive training in advance. Moreover, they thoughtfully prepared an "in-flight meal" for the two special passengers - fresh bamboo grown in the UK. 

Around 9:45 am, the truck slowly left the zoo, and Yang Guang and Tian Tian headed to Edinburgh Airport to officially start their journey back home.

Since the return of the giant panda cub Xiang Xiang on February 21, a total of 15 overseas giant pandas have returned to China this year, coming from the US, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the UK, and other countries. The highest numbers were from the US and Japan, with four pandas each, CCTV reported in December.

Why did the overseas giant pandas experience a "return wave" this year? An official from the Sichuan Provincial Forestry and Grass Administration explained to the media that most of the pandas returning home this year did so due to the expiration of their agreements. 

However, the returns of some pandas were delayed until this year due to the pandemic, leading to this "return wave." For example, Xiang Xiang, who was born in Japan, was originally scheduled to return to China at the end of December 2020 but was delayed until this year due.

Additionally, the official stated that overseas-born giant panda cubs generally return to China between the ages of 2 and 4 to avoid the risk of inbreeding overseas during their reproductive period, which falls between 4 and 6 years of age. 

The returning giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji (Little Miracle), who was born in the zoo in Washington DC, is already 3 years old and so is about to enter its breeding period. Returning home at this time allows it more time to adapt to life in China and better breed the next generation.

For elderly giant pandas like Mei Xiang, 25, and Tian Tian, 26, Xiao Qi Ji's parents who were living in the US, their ages are equivalent to human's advanced years. Returning home now is to ensure a better "retirement life." 

The official explained that for giant pandas with an average lifespan of only 25 years, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are already "elderly." 

"Sichuan has a relatively complete medical care system and rich treatment experience. Their return is to ensure they enjoy their twilight years in Sichuan," the official said.

More overseas giant pandas will soon embark on their journey home. For example, the first pair of giant panda twins born in Germany, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, started a month-long quarantine last week to prepare for their return. The first panda born in Singapore, Le Le, will bid farewell to local visitors on December 16 and return to China on January 16, 2024.

Currently, China cooperates with 19 countries, including Japan, Austria, Spain and the UK, on giant panda conservation research. There are currently more than 60 giant pandas living abroad, according to CCTV report. 

Global Times

Ya Ya, a 23-year-old giant panda, enjoys her life in Beijing Zoo on May 29, 2023 after she returned from the US in April. Photo: VCG

Male giant panda Yang Guang celebrates his 20th birthday at Edinburgh Zoo on August 15, 2023. Photo: VCG

Though Xiang Xiang has already left Japan and returned to China, fans still hold a birthday party in Tokyo for her on June 12, 2023. Photo: VCG

France-born giant panda Yuan Meng attracts visitors in his last show in the zoo of Beauval on July 24, 2023. Photo: VCG

US-born giant panda Xiao Qi Ji plays at his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, September 28, 2023. Photo: VCG

Returned U.S.-born Giant Panda Meets Public In China

Xiao Qi Ji, a giant panda born in the United States and returned to China last month, met the public for the first time on Tuesday in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Following more than a month of quarantine, examination and care from panda keepers, Xiao Qi Ji has progressively adapted to the living environment in Shenshuping giant panda base in Sichuan's Wolong National Nature Reserve.

Born on Aug. 21, 2020 in Washington, D.C., Xiao Qi Ji was returned to Sichuan on Nov. 9 from the Smithsonian's National Zoo with its parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

Xiao Qi Ji has attracted a large number of tourists to the Shenshuping giant panda base.

"It is really cute and has smooth hair. I like pandas very much, because every time I see them, I feel very happy and the stress is relieved," said Xia Feng, a fan of pandas.

At present, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang have also been released from quarantine. To better care for the two elderly giant pandas, they are currently resting at the nursing home of the Dujiangyan giant panda base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda, which is not open to the public.

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian were taken to the United States 23 years ago and produced four cubs there, among which Tai Shan, Bao Bao, and Bei Bei had returned to China before Xiao Qi Ji. 

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