Breeding selected pandas in captivity has been a challenge, leading conservationists to often turn to artificial insemination, but there may be a better way, they say — let the pandas choose their own mates.
The iconic black and white creatures are far more likely to mate and successfully produce cubs if allowed, by showing a complex series of behaviors, to indicate preference for a particular potential mate, say scientists who've been studying captive breeding — or the lack of it.
When no such preference is shown, even pairs of pandas considered genetically suitable for mating often have zero success, the researchers say.
A panda will express an interest in potential mates by engaging in complex behaviors including vocalizations called "chirps" and "bleats," and by "scent-marking" through rubbing glands against a surface or object, the researchers found.
Looking for signs of such behavior and allowing the pandas to pursue a preferred partner could significantly improve the rate of success of captive breeding, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications.
"Giant pandas paired with preferred partners have significantly higher copulation and birth rates," the study authors say.
Pandas in captivity are often placed with a partner based on the animals' genetic profile in an effort to avoid inbreeding and enlarge the engendered animals' gene pool.
However, the result in such pairings is often frustration as the pair fails to show even the slightest sexual interest.
In a study involving more than 40 pandas at a research station in Sichuan province in China, the animals were placed in large open-air compounds that allowed them the choice of many potential mates.
When a male and female panda indicated a preference for eath other, such pairings yielded an 80 percent chance to produce a cub, the researchers found.
Even when just one of the pair showed an interest in the other, there was still a 50 percent chance of a successful breeding, compared with a zero percent chance if neither animal displayed a preference for the other.
That strongly suggests letting nature take its course, experts say, noting that ever since the time of Darwin scientists have understood that mate selection is key to successful animal reproduction.
"Incorporating mate choice into conservation breeding programs could make a huge difference for the success of many endangered species breeding programs, increasing cost-effectiveness and overall success," says conservation biologist Meghan Martin-Wintle of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.
