Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The giant panda as a social, biological and conservation phenomenon
- 2 The Giant Panda Biomedical Survey: how it began and the value of people working together across cultures and disciplines
- 3 Factors limiting reproductive success in the giant panda as revealed by a Biomedical Survey
- 4 Significant medical issues and biological reference values for giant pandas from the Biomedical Survey
- 5 Life histories and behavioural traits as predictors of breeding status
- 6 Nutrition and dietary husbandry
- 7 Male reproductive biology in giant pandas in breeding programmes in China
- 8 Endocrinology of the giant panda and application of hormone technology to species management
- 9 The value and significance of vaginal cytology
- 10 Parentage assessment among captive giant pandas in China
- 11 The science of behavioural management: creating biologically relevant living environments in captivity
- 12 Evaluating stress and well-being in the giant panda: a system for monitoring
- 13 The neonatal giant panda: hand-rearing and medical management
- 14 Consequences of early rearing on socialization and social competence of the giant panda
- 15 Medical management of captive adult and geriatric giant pandas
- 16 Diseases and pathology of giant pandas
- 17 Ultrasonography to assess and enhance health and reproduction in the giant panda
- 18 Gastrointestinal endoscopy in the giant panda
- 19 Historical perspective of breeding giant pandas ex situ in China and high priorities for the future
- 20 Role and efficiency of artificial insemination and genome resource banking
- 21 Analysis of demographic and genetic trends for developing a captive breeding masterplan for the giant panda
- 22 Partnerships and capacity building for securing giant pandas ex situ and in situ: how zoos are contributing to conservation
- Index
- Plate Section
- References
6 - Nutrition and dietary husbandry
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The giant panda as a social, biological and conservation phenomenon
- 2 The Giant Panda Biomedical Survey: how it began and the value of people working together across cultures and disciplines
- 3 Factors limiting reproductive success in the giant panda as revealed by a Biomedical Survey
- 4 Significant medical issues and biological reference values for giant pandas from the Biomedical Survey
- 5 Life histories and behavioural traits as predictors of breeding status
- 6 Nutrition and dietary husbandry
- 7 Male reproductive biology in giant pandas in breeding programmes in China
- 8 Endocrinology of the giant panda and application of hormone technology to species management
- 9 The value and significance of vaginal cytology
- 10 Parentage assessment among captive giant pandas in China
- 11 The science of behavioural management: creating biologically relevant living environments in captivity
- 12 Evaluating stress and well-being in the giant panda: a system for monitoring
- 13 The neonatal giant panda: hand-rearing and medical management
- 14 Consequences of early rearing on socialization and social competence of the giant panda
- 15 Medical management of captive adult and geriatric giant pandas
- 16 Diseases and pathology of giant pandas
- 17 Ultrasonography to assess and enhance health and reproduction in the giant panda
- 18 Gastrointestinal endoscopy in the giant panda
- 19 Historical perspective of breeding giant pandas ex situ in China and high priorities for the future
- 20 Role and efficiency of artificial insemination and genome resource banking
- 21 Analysis of demographic and genetic trends for developing a captive breeding masterplan for the giant panda
- 22 Partnerships and capacity building for securing giant pandas ex situ and in situ: how zoos are contributing to conservation
- Index
- Plate Section
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Nutrition involves a series of processes whereby an animal uses items in its external environment to support internal metabolism (Robbins, 1993). The nutrition and consequent nutritional status of an animal are basic to all aspects of health, including growth, reproduction and disease resistance. Thus, appropriate nutrition and feeding are essential to a comprehensive animal management and preventative medicine programme.
The giant panda's obligate dependence upon bamboo as a primary energy and nutrient source has been well described (Sheldon, 1937; Schaller et al., 1985). Many aspects of panda biology are directly related to its adaptations for utilisation of this highly fibrous, low energy density food, thus demonstrating the inseparable influence of nutrition on behaviour, reproduction and other physiological functions. There may be few other species that more effectively illustrate how an understanding of nutritional adaptations helps us interpret the species ecology.
This chapter describes insights into the nutritional adaptations of the giant panda while identifying priority research that will fill gaps in our understanding of these unique abilities. Historical and current strategies on feeding giant pandas in captivity are presented along with recommendations for improving nutrition and dietary husbandry to promote health and feeding behaviours.
ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, GUIDELINES AND ASSESSMENT
Feeding ecology and anatomical adaptations to a herbivorous diet
More than 99% of the food consumed by the free-ranging giant panda consists of bamboo (Schaller et al., 1985). Yet the giant panda is unique in that it has the relatively simple gastrointestinal tract of a carnivore.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Giant PandasBiology, Veterinary Medicine and Management, pp. 101 - 158Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
References
AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) (2004). 2004 Official Publication. Oxford, In: Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc.
, and (1956). Some observations on the digestibility of food by sheep and on related problems. British Journal of Nutrition, 10, 69–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, and (1982). Effects of dietary protein quantity and quality on the growth of dogs and rats. Journal of Nutrition, 112, 1843–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , and (1999). Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) population dynamics and bamboo (subfamily Bambusoideae) life history: a structured population approach to examining carrying capacity when the prey are semelparous. Ecological Modeling, 123, 207–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CBSG (Conservation Breeding Specialist Group) (2001). Report on 1999–2000 CBSG Biomedical Survey of Giant Pandas in Captivity in China. Apple Valley, MN: IUCN–World Conservation Union/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group.
(1964). The Giant Panda. A Morphological Study of Evolutionary Mechanisms. Fieldiana: Zoological Memoirs. Volume 3, Chicago, IL: Chicago Natural History Museum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dierenfeld, E. S. (1997). Chemical composition of bamboo in relation to giant panda nutrition. In The Bamboos, ed. . London: Linnean Society of London, pp. 205–11.Google Scholar
, , , and (1982). Utilization of bamboo by the giant panda. Journal of Nutrition, 112, 636–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , and (1995). Giant panda diets fed in five Chinese facilities: an assessment. Zoo Biology, 14, 211–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1995). Comparative Adaptations to Folivory in Primates. Doctoral dissertation. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.Google Scholar
(1996). Nutritional management of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the Zoological Society of San Diego. Technical Conference of Giant Panda Breeding (Chengdu) Beijing: Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens.Google Scholar
(2003). Nutrition of zoo animals. Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition in Australia, 14, 1–9.Google Scholar
Edwards, M. S. and Nickley, J. K. (2000). Development of a fecal consistency scoring system for giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). In Panda 2000: Priorities for the New Millennium, ed. and . San Diego, CA: Zoological Society of San Diego, p. 367.Google Scholar
and (1997). Preliminary observations on the use of a higher fiber biscuit as a supplemental food item for giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). In International Symposium on the Protection of the Giant Panda.Chengdu: Sichuan Publishing House of Science and Technology, pp. 50–2.Google Scholar
, , et al. (1996). Functional anatomy of the radial sesamoid bone in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Anatomy, 189, 587–92.Google Scholar
, , et al. (1999). Comparative anatomy of the radial sesamoid bone in the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 61, 903–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , et al. (2001). Carpal bone movements in gripping action of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Anatomy, 198, 243–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1983). Lignin as a marker in digestion studies: a review. Journal of Animal Science, 57, 220–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , et al. (1993). Study on the numeral change and artificial breeding effect of giant panda. In Minutes of the International Symposium on the Protection of the Giant Panda, ed. and . Chengdu: Sichuan Publishing House of Science and Technology, pp. 226–30.Google Scholar
(1940). Acute hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis in a giant panda. Zoological Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society, 25, 261–2.Google Scholar
, , and (1989). The faecal flora of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 67, 411–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , et al. (1988). Digestibility of dietary fiber in giant pandas and its importance for their nutrition. In Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Giant Panda.Tokyo: Tokyo Zoological Park Society, pp. 143–52.Google Scholar
(ed.) (1997). A Study of Staple Food Bamboo for the Giant Panda. Guiyang, Guizhou: Guizhou Scientific Publisher. (In Chinese with English summaries.)Google Scholar
, , , and (2002). Study of crude protein intake and growth response in captive subadult giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Zoo Biology, 21, 223–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, Y., Lu, Z., Wang, D. et al. (2004). The nutritional strategy of giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains of China. In Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation, ed. and . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 90–100.Google Scholar
and (1972). Comparative water and energy economy of wild and domestic mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, 31, 261–96.Google Scholar
, and (1989). Utilization of a bamboo, sugar cane and gruel diet by two juvenile giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 20, 39–44.Google Scholar
Masman, W. (1995). Bamboo names and synonyms. http://home.iae.nl/users/pms/wmas_dbase/synonyms.html (accessed May 2005).
(2001). Giant Pandas: Bamboo Intake and Fecal Analysis. Master of Science Thesis. Pomona, CA: California State Polytechnic University.Google Scholar
, and (1999). The effect of bamboo intake on fecal consistency in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). In Proceedings of the Third Conference of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Nutrition Advisory Group. Columbus, OH, pp. 46–50.Google Scholar
NRC (National Research Council) (1985). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
NRC (National Research Council) (1993). Nutrient Requirements of Fish. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
NRC (National Research Council) (2003). Nutrient Requirements of Nonhuman Primates, 2nd rev. edn. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
NRC (National Research Council) (2004). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Pan, W. (1988). The panda's food and nutritional value. In The Giant Panda's Natural Refuge in the Qinling Mountains, ed. , , et al. pp. 129–46. Beijing:Peking University Publisher. (In Chinese with an English summary.)Google Scholar
, , et al. (1998). Milk composition and nursing in a giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Acta Scientiarum Naturalium, 34, 350–1.Google Scholar
(1977). Bamboos and the giant panda in the Min Mountains. Botanical Journal, 3, 38–9. (In Chinese.)Google Scholar
(1937). Notes on the anatomy and viscera of the giant panda. American Museum Novitiates, 877, 1–23.Google Scholar
and (1991). Giant panda selection between Bashania fangiana bamboo habitats in Wolong Reserve, Sichuan, China. Journal of Applied Ecology, 28, 228–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaller, G. B., Hu, J., Pan, W. and Zhu, J. (1985). Feeding strategy. In The Giant Pandas of Wolong, ed. , , and . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 37–107.
, and (2004). Seasonal differences in composition of bamboo fed to giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the National Zoo. In Proceedings of the Fifth Comparative Nutrition Society Symposium. Hickory Corners, MI, pp. 176–83.Google Scholar
(1989). Nutritional wisdom (editorial). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 20, 1–2.Google Scholar
(1994). Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant, 2nd edn. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
(ed.) (1989). A Comprehensive Survey Report On China's Giant Panda and Its Habitat. Ministry of Forestry, Beijing, and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature. (In Chinese.)Google Scholar
, & (1982). Histological survey of the alimentary tract of the giant panda. Zoological Research, 3 (suppl.), 27–8. (In Chinese.)Google Scholar
Warnell, K. J. (1988). Feed intake, digestibility, digesta passage and fecal microbial ecology of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens). Master of Science Thesis. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
Warnell, K. J., Crissey, S. D. and Oftedal, O. T. (1989). Utilization of bamboo and other fiber sources in red panda diets. In Red Panda Biology, ed. . The Hague: SPB Academic Publishing, pp. 51–6.Google Scholar
, , , and (1999). Use of the nutrients in bamboo by the red panda (Ailurus fulgens). Journal of Zoology (London), 248, 535–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1981). The preliminary observations on the giant panda in Foping Natural Reserve. Wildlife, 4, 10–16. (In Chinese.)Google Scholar
, , , and (2001). The reproductive strategy of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): infant growth and development and mother-infant relationships. Journal of Zoology (London), 253, 141–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zou, X., Wang, A., Zou, Q. et al. (1993). The experiment on giant pandas' digestion and metabolism. In International Symposium on the Protection of the Giant Panda, ed. and . Chengdu: Chengdu Foundation of Giant Panda Breeding, pp. 284–289. (Chinese manuscript with English abstract.)Google Scholar
- 9
- Cited by