Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

Daily patterns

• Time of day
• Active day and night (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Active for a few hours at a time (“bursts” of activity) (Garshelis 2009b)
• Conserving energy
• Spend much of the day resting/sleeping (to conserve energy) and also eating (see Schaller et al. 1985, Ch. 5)
• Lots of bamboo required to meet their daily energy needs
• See Diet & Feeding
• Inactive for long periods
• Active for about 50% of the day (Garshelis 2009b)
• Most activity involves foraging and eating (Garshelis 2009b)
• Least active when feeding on abundant or nutritious bamboo leaves (Garshelis 2009b)
• Differs from other bears that are most active when food is abundant (Garshelis 2009b)
• Season and weather also influence activity levels (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Influence of reproduction
• Mothers with young cubs much less active; spend considerable time at den site (Schaller et al. 1985)

Seasonal/annual patterns

• Little variation in seasonal activity (Garshelis 2009b)
• Do not hibernate, unlike other bears (Garshelis 2009b)
• Food available year-round (Garshelis 2009b)
• During winter, seek shelter from snow and cold conditions in rocky areas, caves, and hollow trees (Garshelis 2009b)

Home ranges

• Home range size
• On average, about 5 to 15 km² (Schaller et al. 1985; Garshelis 2009b)
• Range: 1 to 60 km² (Garshelis 2009b)
• Influenced by season, habitat, social interactions, etc. (Garshelis 2009b)
• Seasonal differences
• Home ranges generally larger in winter than in summer (eg, Zhang et al. 2014)
• Varies considerably among individuals
• See “Seasonal movements,” below
• Home range overlap and area use
• Individuals have small, overlapping home ranges (Schaller et al. 1985; Garshelis 2009b)
• However, core areas used by pandas of the same sex infrequently overlap (Garshelis 2009b), reducing direct contact among these individuals (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Spacing maintained through scent marking (Garshelis 2009b)
• See “Smell and scent marking”
• Males spend time at preferred sites within their home range, but do not use core areas, as females do (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Males roam more widely, using core areas used by “females and subadults” (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Habitat use changes seasonally (Garshelis 2009b; Zhang et al. 2012)
• See “Seasonal movements,” below
• A male’s core range may overlap that of several females (Garshelis 2009b)
• See “Mating system”

Daily movements

• Typically move short distances each day (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Foraging patches closely spaced (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Schaller et al. (1985) found that pandas move less than 1 km per day (linear, straight-line distance)

Seasonal movements

• General patterns
• Have distinct winter and summer habitat areas (Garshelis 2009b; Zhang et al. 2014)
• Shift elevation, seeking preferred seasonal temperatures (Garshelis 2009b and studies cited below)
• Move with changing growth of various bamboo species (Garshelis 2009b)
• Winter (and early spring)
• Spend time at lower elevations to avoid harshest cold temperatures (Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Garshelis 2009b; Zhang et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2014)
• Descend slowly, taking several weeks to reach habitat areas lower elevations (Yong et al. 2004; Zhang et al. 2014)
• Summer
• Spend time at higher elevations, seeking cooler temperatures (Garshelis 2009b; Zhang et al. 2012)
• Giant pandas are sensitive to heat

Dispersal

• Unlike other bear species, females (instead of males) appear to disperse from their natal area (Garshelis 2009b)
• Males stay nearer to mother’s home range (Garshelis 2009b)

Generally solitary

(Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Schaller et al. 1985)

• Females and males typically live singly (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• Females and males most commonly interact during breeding (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• See Reproduction
• Females live singly, unless caring for young (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• Cubs accompany mother until reaching independence (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• See Life Stages

Smell and scent marking

• Leaving scents
  • Mark environment at communal scent stations and along established travel routes (Kleiman et al. 1979)
    • Secretions build up over time at frequented locations (Kleiman et al. 1979)
  • Leave marks on trees, rocks, logs, stumps, etc. using gland secretions and urine
  • Use a variety of body postures, including squatting, backing up to a surface, raising a hindleg, and among males, a “headstand” position (Morris and Morris 1966; Kleiman et al. 1979; Schaller et al. 1985; White et al. 2002)
• Urine and gland secretions
  • Both males and females mark territory with sticky secretions from anogenital glands (located in and near a panda’s anus and genitals) (Morris and Morris 1966; Kleiman et al. 1979; Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Leave marks on horizontal and vertical surfaces
  • Males also scent mark in a “headstand” position (raise hindquarters) to deposit scent higher on vertical surfaces (Kleiman and Collins 1972; Schaller et al. 1985; Swaisgood et al. 2000; White et al. 2002)
    • Thought to convey information about a male’s competitive ability, or behavioral intent to defend territory or mates (White et al. 2002)
    • Higher marks left by “better” competitors (White et al. 2002)
    • Females do not scent-mark in handstand position (Swaisgood et al. 2000)
• Rubbing and rolling
  • Rub cheeks, neck and shoulders, and haunches on rocks and other firm surfaces (Kleiman et al. 1979)
  • Roll on ground, often rubbing their back, to adhere scents of other pandas onto their fur (Chorn and Hoffman 1978 citing Kleiman and Collins 1972) (Kleiman et al. 1979)
  • Rub sod, soil, ice, food, and grass into belly fur with front paws (Chorn and Hoffman 1978 citing Kleiman and Collins 1972) (Kleiman et al. 1979) 
• Discriminating among chemical signals
  • Can detect age, sex, and reproductive condition of a panda who deposited their scent (Swaisgood et al. 2000; Swaisgood et al. 2002; White 2003; Swaisgood et al. 2004)
  • Able to distinguish individual identities of other pandas (Swaisgood et al. 1999; Swaisgood et al. 2004)
  • Can tell their relatives (kin) apart from unrelated individuals (Gilad et al. 2016)
    • Females spend more time investigating the scents of unrelated pandas (Gilad et al. 2016)
• Functions and information encoded
  • Convey information about reproductive maturity, breeding status, and competitive status (Swaisgood et al. 2004)
  • Guard territory (males), guard mates (males), or rare denning sites (females)
  • Attend to certain portions of chemical signals more than others, depending on the season and individual motivations (White et al. 2004)
  • Prevent escalation of conflict or competition for resources (White et al. 2002)

Visual communication

• Few noticeable body postures (Kleiman et al. 1979)
  • Emotional states and intentions subtle (Kleiman et al. 1979)
• Visual signals
  • Often used in tandem with olfactory marking (see “Smell and scent marking”) (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • Behaviors
    • Strip tree bark (using teeth or claws) (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Bite tree saplings (Schaller et al. 1985)
      • Remove a portion
      • Breaking trunk off completely
    • Leave claw marks (Schaller et al. 1985)
      • Sometimes faint
    • Paw ground surface, scraping away sod or snow (Schaller et al. 1985)
      • Observed on raised ground or at base of trees (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Behavioral displays
  • Signal each other with body postures (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Often accompanied by vocalizations
  • Play/non-aggression
    • Elicit other pandas to play by rolling and somersaulting (Wilson and Kleiman 1974)
    • Also see Play
  • Aggression
    • Stare at perceived opponent, suggesting a threat (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Lower head and sometimes head-bob (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • See Aggression for description of other aggressive behaviors
  • Submission
    • Turn head away (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Drop head, and cover eye patches and muzzle with paws (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Coloration
  • Function of dark eye patches not clear, but might be used to visually communicate with other pandas and/or other animals (Schaller et al. 1985; Schaller 1994; Caro et al. 2017)
    • Emphasis on the eyes (as in, a stare–threat) may signal other pandas to keep away (Schaller 1994)
  • Head markings might also be used by pandas to recognize one another (Dungl et al. 2008; Caro et al. 2017)
    • More research needed

Vocal communication

• Adult vocalizations
  • More than 10 distinctive vocal and non-vocal sounds identified for adult pandas (Schaller et al. 1985; Kleiman and Peters 1990)
    • Includes bleats, chirps, snorts, huffs, honks, moans, barks, squeals, growls, roars, etc. (Schaller et al. 1985; Kleiman and Peters 1990; Charlton et al. 2011)
      • Giant pandas are the only bears that do not hum (Peters et al. 2007)
    • Female and male sounds are similar (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • Breeding calls
    • Females give distinctive chirps when ready to mate (advertising fertility) (Kleiman and Peters 1990; Charlton et al. 2010)
    • Male bleats convey information about male hormone levels, such as androgens (Charlton et al. 2011)
      • May influence female mate choice and avoidance behavior by males
• Cub vocalizations
  • Given at lower frequencies than adults’ courtship vocalizations (Owen et al. 2016a)

• Impacts of noise pollution
  • Still being studied
  • Mother’s ability to hear cub’s lower-frequency calls may be hindered by noisy conditions, especially outside quieter old-growth forests (see Owen et al. 2016a)

Tactile communication

• Most common during breeding period (Kleiman et al. 1979)
• Biting, pawing, swatting, pouncing, pushing (Kleiman et al. 1979)

Aggressive behaviors

• Swatting with forepaws (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Lunging (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Grappling (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Biting (Schaller et al. 1985)

Not territorial

• Females
• Do not patrol boundaries of the core area within their home range (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Males
• Not territorial (Schaller et al. 1985)
• See “Home ranges,” above

Play

• Common in young pandas (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• Infrequently observed among pandas in wild populations, except between cubs and their mothers (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Roll, tumble, somersault, and twist body (Wilson and Kleiman 1974; Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Kleiman et al. 1979)
• Paw, swat, and pounce at playmate (Kleiman et al. 1979)
• Slide down snowy slopes (Schaller et al. 1985)
• In zoos, young pandas also observed rolling in dirt and bathing in water (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)

Walking

• Agility
  • Can walk over rough terrain and through bamboo easily (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Gait
  • Gait described as “rolling,” “ambling,” or “waddling” (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Head held low (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • Move legs on same side of body (Davis 1964; Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
    • Similar gait to other bears (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
  • Do not walk on hind legs but can stand upright (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
• Stride length
  • Longer stride than other bears (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)

Running

• Rarely run, but will dash off if startled (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • Fast movement difficult in thick bamboo forest

Climbing

• Infrequently climb trees as adults (Garshelis 2009b)
  • Spend less time in trees than other bears; forage on the ground, not in trees (Garshelis 2009b)
• Functions/benefits
  • Climb trees to rest, escape danger, or for courtship (Garshelis 2009b)
• Cubs and juveniles
  • Young pandas (between 4 and 14 months old) commonly stay in a tree while mother forages (Lü et al. 1994)
• Adults
  • Climb trees to avoid hunting dogs (Morris and Morris 1966) (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
  • Females in estrous may climb to avoid male suitors (Garshelis 2009b)

Pandas are adept tree climbers when seeking a bit of sun, some peace and quiet, or safe refuge.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Catton (1990)
Charlton et al. (2009)
Charlton et al. (2010)
Garshelis (2004)
Hagey & MacDonald (2003)
Kleiman & Peters (1990)
Lü et al. (2008)
Mainka & Zhang (1994)
Nie et al. (2012)
Schaller et al. (1985)
Swaisgood et al. (2000)
White et al. (2002, 2003)
Zhang et al. (2014)