Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-05T20:07:17.085Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - The science of behavioural management: creating biologically relevant living environments in captivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2009

Ronald R. Swaisgood
Affiliation:
Conservation and Research for Endangered Species, San Diego Zoo, Zoological Society of San Diego
Guiquan Zhang
Affiliation:
China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda
Xiaoping Zhou
Affiliation:
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Hemin Zhang
Affiliation:
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
David E. Wildt
Affiliation:
Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC
Anju Zhang
Affiliation:
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Hemin Zhang
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas
Donald L. Janssen
Affiliation:
Zoological Society of San Diego
Susie Ellis
Affiliation:
Conservation Breeding Specialist Group
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

As for many highly specialised carnivores, breeding giant pandas in captivity has had sporadic gains and setbacks over its 40-year history (see Chapters 1 and 19). Although many husbandry issues have been addressed successfully, we are still learning about behaviour and its relevance to ex situ management. This chapter updates the state of captive breeding at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in the Wolong Nature Reserve (hereafter referred to as the Wolong Centre). We also provide details of our scientifically guided husbandry and management strategies that are contributing to a rapidly growing database of scholarly knowledge as well as to recent improvements in reproductive success.

Even with our limited knowledge about giant pandas in nature, it appears that, in the presence of plentiful natural resources and the absence of human disturbance, giant pandas mate, become pregnant and rear offspring without problem. Thus, reproduction is not a limiting factor to wild population viability (Lu et al., 2000). Because this is not the case for the ex situ population, we can surmise that reproductive problems are rooted in the captive environment – a place that fails to fully meet the needs of at least some individuals. In principle, and with a proper understanding of species-salient factors, it should be possible to create captive environments that result in, or even surpass, reproductive rates occurring in the wild. Targets for improvement include health, nutrition, husbandry and behavioural management, this chapter concentrating on the latter two factors.

Type
Chapter
Information
Giant Pandas
Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management
, pp. 274 - 298
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Carlstead, K. and Shepherdson, D. J. (1994). Effects of environmental enrichment on reproduction. Zoo Biology, 13, 447–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falk, J. L. (1977). The origin and functions of adjunctive behaviour. Animal Learning and Behaviour, 4, 325–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forthman, D. L., McManamon, R., Levi, U. A. and Bruner, G. Y. (1995). Interdisciplinary issues in the design of mammal exhibits (excluding marine mammals and primates). In Conservation of Endangered Species in Captivity: An Interdisciplinary Approach, ed. Gibbons, E. F., Durrant, B. S. and Demarest, J.. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 377–99.Google Scholar
Hofer, H. and East, M. L. (1998). Biological conservation and stress. Advances in the Study of Behaviour, 27, 405–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoyo Bastien, C. M., Schoch, J. F. and Tellez Giron, J. A. (1985). Management and breeding of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the Chapultepec Zoo, Mexico City. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Giant Panda. Bongo, pp. 83–92. Bongo, Berlin.
Hughes, B. O. and Duncan, I. J. H. (1988). The notion of ethological ‘need’, models of motivation and animal welfare. Animal Behaviour, 36, 1696–707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleiman, D. G. (1983). Ethology and reproduction of captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Zeitschrift für die Tierpsychologie, 62, 1–46.Google Scholar
Kleiman, D. G. (1984). Panda breeding. International Zoo News, 31, 28–30.Google Scholar
Lindburg, D. G. and Baragona, K. (eds.) (2004). Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Lindburg, D. G., Czekala, N. M. and Swaisgood, R. R. (2001). Hormonal and behavioral relationships during estrus in the giant panda. Zoo Biology, 20, 537–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindburg, D. G., Swaisgood, R. R., Zhang, J., Narushima, E. and Zhou, X. Stereotyped behaviour in the giant panda. In Making Enrichment a 21st Century Priority: Proceedings, 5th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment. Sydney: Australia (in press).
Lu, Z., Pan, W. and Harkness, J. (1994). Mother–cub relationships in giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains, China, with comment on rescuing abandoned cubs. Zoo Biology, 13, 567–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, Z., Pan, W., Zhu, X., Wang, D. and Wang, H. (2000). What has the panda taught us? In Priorities for the Conservation of Mammalian Diversity: Has the Panda had its Day?, ed. Entwistle, A. and Dunstone, N.. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, pp. 325–34.Google Scholar
Mason, G. J. (1991). Stereotypies: a critical review. Animal Behaviour, 41, 1015–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renner, M. J. and Rosenzweig, M. R. (1987). Enriched and Impoverished Environments: Effects on Brain and Behaviour. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaller, G. B. (1993). The Last Panda. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Schaller, G. B., Hu, J., Pan, W. and Zhu, J. (1985). The Giant Pandas of Wolong. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Shepherdson, D. J. (1994). The role of environmental enrichment in the captive breeding and reintroduction of endangered species. In Creative Conservation: Interactive Management of Wild and Captive Animals, ed. G. Mace, Olney, P. J. S. and Feistner, A.. London: Chapman & Hall, pp. 167–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherdson, D., Mellen, J. and Hutchins, M. (eds.) (1998). Second Nature: Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.Google Scholar
Snyder, R. J., Zhang, A. J., Zhang, Z. H.et al. (2003). Behavioural and developmental consequences of early rearing experience for captive giant pandas. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 117, 235–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, R. J., Lawson, D. P., Zhang, A. et al. (2004). Reproduction in giant pandas: hormones and behaviour. In Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation, ed. Lindburg, D. and Baragona, K.. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 125–32.Google Scholar
Swaisgood, R. R., Lindburg, D. G. and Zhou, X. (1999). Giant pandas discriminate individual differences in conspecific scent. Animal Behaviour, 57, 1045–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swaisgood, R. R., Lindburg, D. G., Zhou, X. and Owen, M. A. (2000). The effects of sex, reproductive condition and context on discrimination of conspecific odours by giant pandas. Animal Behaviour, 60, 227–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swaisgood, R. R., White, A. M., Zhou, X.et al. (2001). A quantitative assessment of the efficacy of an environmental enrichment programme for giant pandas. Animal Behaviour, 61, 447–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swaisgood, R. R., Lindburg, D. G. and Zhang, H. (2002). Discrimination of oestrous status in giant pandas via chemical cues in urine. Journal of Zoology (London), 257, 381–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swaisgood, R. R., Ellis, S., Forthman, D. L. and Shepherdson, D. J. (2003a). Commentary: improving well-being for captive giant pandas: theoretical and practical issues. Zoo Biology, 22, 347–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swaisgood, R. R., Zhou, X., Zhang, G., Lindburg, D. G. and Zhang, H. (2003b). Application of behavioural knowledge to giant panda conservation. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 16, 65–84.Google Scholar
Swaisgood, R. R., Lindburg, D. G., White, A. M., Zhou, X. and Zhang, H. (2004). Chemical communication in giant pandas: experimentation and application. In Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation ed. Lindburg, D. G. and Baragona, K.. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 106–120.Google Scholar
Tepper, E. M., Hare, V. J., Swaisgood, R. R. et al. (2001). Evaluating enrichment strategies with giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo. In Proceedings, Fourth International Conference on Environmental Enrichment, ed. Hare, V. J., Worley, K. E. and Myers, K.. San Diego, CA: Shape of Enrichment, pp. 226–39.Google Scholar
White, A. M. (2001). Chemical Communication in Giant Pandas: The Role of Marking Posture and Age of Signaler. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University, Masters Thesis.Google Scholar
White, A. M., Swaisgood, R. R. and Zhang, H. (2002). The highs and lows of chemical communication in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): effect of scent deposition height on signal discrimination. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 51, 519–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, A. M., Swaisgood, R. R. and Zhang, H. (2003). Chemical communication in giant pandas: the role of age in the signaller and assessor. Journal of Zoology (London), 259, 171–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, G. Q., Swaisgood, R. R., Wei, R. P.et al. (2000). A method for encouraging maternal care in the giant panda. Zoo Biology, 19, 53–63.3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, G. Q., Swaisgood, R. R. and Zhang, H. (2004). An evaluation of the behavioral factors influencing reproductive success and failure in captive giant pandas. Zoo Biology, 23, 15–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, X., Lindburg, D. G., Pan, W., Forney, K. A. and Wang, D. (2001). The reproductive strategy of giant pandas: infant growth and development and mother–infant relationships. Journal of Zoology (London), 253, 141–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×