This page intentionally left blank Giant Pandas: Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management ‘‘The giant panda is one of the world’s most recognized animals, but most biology of this threatened species has been a mystery. For example, the female giant panda is sexually receptive for only 2 to 3 days once per year and, if pregnant, can produce twins, one of which inevitably dies. With China undergoing unprecedented changes at a rapid and accelerating rate, can such a highly specialized species survive? Giant pandas living in zoos are a favorite of the public, but more importantly are an important source of new biological information that can be applied to understand- ing and protecting the species in nature. This book is the first of its kind to summarize the present state-of-knowledge about giant panda biology on the topics of reproduction, behavior, nutrition, genetics and disease. It also offers the latest advances in neonatal care, preventative medicine, the use of assisted breeding and recent progress in population biology to gen- etically manage the worldwide ‘insurance’ population of giant pandas living in zoos and breeding centers. The exciting result is a growing popu- lation of giant pandas in captivity that, in turn, is allowing animal loans to zoos that produce funding to conserve the species in nature, including habitat protection. This book is an example of how zoos, through science and awareness, contribute to the scientific understanding and protection of one of the planet’s most beloved animals, the giant panda.’’ DAVI D E. W IL DT is Senior Scientist and Head of the Department of Reproductive Sciences at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park. ANJU ZHANG is the former Director of the Giant Panda Technical Committee in Chengdu, China under the auspices of the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens. HEMIN ZHANG is Director of the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China. Both Anju Zhang and Hemin Zhang are among China’s leading authorities on giant panda reproduction and health. DONALD L. JANSSEN is Director of Veterinary Services at the Zoological Society of San Diego. SUSIE ELLIS is the former Senior Program Officer of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. She now is Vice President of Conservation International’s Indonesia and Philippines Program. Giant Pandas Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management Edited by david e. wil dt Senior Scientist and Head of the Department of Reproductive Sciences at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park anju zhang the Former Director of the Giant Panda Technical Committee in Chengdu, China under the auspices of the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens hemin zhang Director of Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China. Both Anju Zhang and Hemin Zhang are among China’s leading authorities on giant panda reproduction and health donald l. janssen Director of Veterinary Services at the Zoological Society of San Diego susie ellis Former Senior Program Officer of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. She now is Vice President of Conservation International’s Indonesia and Philippines Program CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK First published in print format ISBN-13 978-0-521-83295-3 ISBN-13 978-0-511-24240-3 © Cambridge University Press 2006 2006 Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521832953 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written p ermission of Cambrid g e University Press. ISBN-10 0-511-24240-9 ISBN-10 0-521-83295-0 Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not g uarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or a pp ro p riate. Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org hardback eBook (NetLibrary) eBook (NetLibrary) hardback Contents List of contributors page ix Foreword xix Acknowledgements xxii 1 The giant panda as a social, biological and conservation phenomenon 1 susieellis,wenshipan,zhongxie, davide.wildt 2 The Giant Panda Biomedical Survey: how it began and the value of people working together across cultures and disciplines 17 davide.wildt,anjuzhang,heminzhang, zhongxie,donaldl.janssen,susieellis 3 Factors limiting reproductive success in the giant panda as revealed by a Biomedical Survey 37 susieellis,donaldl.janssen,marks.edwards, jogaylehoward,guangxinhe,jianqiuyu, guiquanzhang,rongpingwei,r.ericmiller, davide.wildt 4 Significant medical issues and biological reference values for giant pandas from the Biomedical Survey 59 donaldl.janssen,marks.edwards,meg sutherland-smith,jianqiuyu,deshengli, guiquanzhang,rongpingwei,chenglinzhang, v r.ericmiller,lyndsayg.phillips,daminghu, chunxiangtang 5 Life histories and behavioural traits as predictors of breeding status 87 susieellis,rebeccaj.snyder,guiquanzhang, rongpingwei,weizhong,mabellam,robertsims 6 Nutrition and dietary husbandry 101 marks.edwards,guiquanzhang,rongping wei,xuanzhenliu 7 Male reproductive biology in giant pandas in breeding programmes in China 159 jogaylehoward,zhihezhang,deshengli, yanhuang,ronghou,guanghanli,meijia zhang,zhiyongye,jinguozhang,shiqiang huang,rebeccaspindler,heminzhang, davide.wildt 8 Endocrinology of the giant panda and application of hormone technology to species management 198 karenj.steinman,stevenl.monfort, lauramcgeehan,davidc.kersey, fernandogual-sil,rebeccaj.snyder, pengyanwang,tatsukonakao, nancym.czekala 9 The value and significance of vaginal cytology 231 barbaras.durrant,maryannolson, autumnanderson,fernandogual-sil, deshengli,yanhuang 10 Parentage assessment among captive giant pandas in China 245 victora.david,shansun,zhihezhang, fujunshen,guiquanzhang,heminzhang, zhongxie,ya-pingzhang,olivera.ryder, susieellis,davide.wildt,anjuzhang, stephenj.o’brien vi Contents 11 The science of behavioural management: creating biologically relevant living environments in captivity 274 ronaldr.swaisgood,guiquanzhang,xiaoping zhou,heminzhang 12 Evaluating stress and well-being in the giant panda: a system for monitoring 299 ronaldr.swaisgood,megana.owen,nancy m.czekala,nathaliemauroo,kathyhawk, jasonc.l.tang 13 The neonatal giant panda: hand-rearing and medical management 315 marks.edwards,rongpingwei,janethawes, megsutherland-smith,chunxiangtang, deshengli,daminghu,guiquanzhang 14 Consequences of early rearing on socialisation and social competence of the giant panda 334 rebeccaj.snyder,molliea.bloomsmith,anju zhang,zhihezhang,terryl.maple 15 Medical management of captive adult and geriatric giant pandas 353 donaldl.janssen,patrickmorris,meg sutherland-smith,markgreenberg,deshengli, daminghu,nathaliemauroo,lucyspelman 16 Diseases and pathology of giant pandas 377 i.katiloeffler,richardj.montali,bruce a.rideout 17 Ultrasonography to assess and enhance health and reproduction in the giant panda 410 thomasb.hildebrandt,janinel.brown, frankgo ¨ ritz,andreasochs,patrickmorris, megsutherland-smith 18 Gastrointestinal endoscopy in the giant panda 440 autumnp.davidson,tomasw.baker, chengdongwang,ronghou,lilou Contents vii 19 Historical perspective of breeding giant pandas ex situ in China and high priorities for the future 455 zhihezhang,anjuzhang,ronghou, jishanwang,guanghanli,lisongfei, qiangwang,i.katiloeffler,davide.wildt, terryl.maple,ritamcmanamon,susieellis 20 Role and efficiency of artificial insemination and genome resource banking 469 jogaylehoward,yanhuang,pengyanwang, deshengli,guiquanzhang,ronghou,zhihe zhang,barbaras.durrant,rebeccae.spindler, heminzhang,anjuzhang,davide.wildt 21 Analysis of demographic and genetic trends for developing a captive breeding masterplan for the giant panda 495 jonathand.ballou,phillips.miller,zhong xie,rongpingwei,heminzhang,anjuzhang, shiqianghuang,shansun,victora.david, stephenj.o’brien,kathytraylor-holzer, ulyssess.seal,davide.wildt 22 Partnerships and capacity building for securing giant pandas ex situ and in situ: how zoos are contributing to conservation 520 davide.wildt,xiaopinglu,mabellam, zhihezhang,susieellis Index 541 The plates are situated between pages 563 and 586 viii Contents [...]... the biology and management of giant pandas, and provides a summary of contemporary scientific information derived from studying more than 60 giant pandas living in zoos and breeding centres in China It adds data to our fragmented knowledge concerning giant panda biology, including health issues, behaviour, nutrition, reproductive physiology/endocrinology, assisted breeding, early development and social... species management, welfare and conservation The purpose of this book is to provide, and then assemble, a few more pieces of this enormous puzzle Giant Pandas: Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management, ed David E Wildt, Anju Zhang, Hemin Zhang, Donald L Janssen and Susie Ellis Published by Cambridge University Press # Cambridge University Press 2006 1 2 Ellis, Pan, Xie et al Figure 1.1 The giant panda... Ministry of Construction, that prompted CBSG’s involvement with giant pandas The Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Giant Panda Office paved the way for expanding the Survey to include giant pandas under State Forest Administration purview More recently, the China Wildlife Conservation Association (in particular Rusheng Cheng and Shanning Zhang) have assisted, especially in the organisation... three giant panda reserves were established in 1963, growing to 13 by 1989 and to more than 40 today GIANT PANDAS IN THE WESTERN WORLD The giant panda was virtually unknown outside China until the 1800s when the declining Qing Dynasty opened China to western trade The species was first described in the western world by the missionary ` naturalist and explorer Pere Armand David who described a giant. .. age The further exportation of giant pandas from China stopped with the Cultural Revolution and the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 A handful of animals were sent to zoos in Europe and North Korea Then, the re-initiation of diplomatic relations between China and the USA (spearheaded by Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon) resulted in a 1972 gift of two giant pandas to the Smithsonian’s National... nature In fact, the most important part of the guidelines mandated that any loan be connected to enhancement of conservation of giant pandas in nature and not linked to commercial gain The result was that zoos in the USA were forced to develop highly organised scientific and management plans before being considered as candidates for importing giant pandas from China There were also substantial financial costs... Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas) There now are approximately 29 pandas living in zoos in North America, Europe, Japan and Thailand Despite the charisma, controversies, money and politics swirling around the species, improvements in captive management are being made This is largely for two reasons: the application of an integrative, multidisciplinary scientific approach (see Chapter 2) and the... Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Wolong Nature Reserve, Wenchuan, Sichuan Province 623006, People’s Republic of China Guanghan Li Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Foundation, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 26 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Fu Tou Shan, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China Xuanzhen Liu Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,... Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 26 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Fu Tou Shan, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China Jianqiu Yu Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding, Northern Suburb, Fu Tou Shan, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 610081, People’s Republic of China Anju Zhang Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Foundation, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 26 Panda Road,... shortterm loan of giant pandas in 1992 This controversial loan set the stage for the future, in that funds raised as a result of the loan were used to establish new reserves in wild panda ranges in China To buy time, the US Fish and Wildlife Service enacted a moratorium on any further giant panda importations The goal was to formulate a policy ensuring that any further trade in giant pandas would not . This page intentionally left blank Giant Pandas: Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management ‘‘The giant panda is one of the world’s most recognized animals, but most biology. Conservation International’s Indonesia and Philippines Program. Giant Pandas Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management Edited by david e. wil dt Senior Scientist and Head of the Department of Reproductive Sciences. socialisation and social competence of the giant panda 334 rebeccaj.snyder,molliea.bloomsmith,anju zhang,zhihezhang,terryl.maple 15 Medical management of captive adult and geriatric giant pandas 353 donaldl.janssen,patrickmorris,meg sutherland-smith,markgreenberg,deshengli, daminghu,nathaliemauroo,lucyspelman 16