Special sex life of panda

The difficulty of mating natural pandas and long-term captivity is still quite a mystery. A recent study shows just how clever a panda is to be able to produce a connected generation.

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The first study revealed the male panda's fertility ability to show that male pandas are capable of fertilizing female bears for at least 6 months each year, but females are only ready to receive in 1 - 3 days throughout net years. Not only is the time for mating too short for female bears, male bears must also go through a relatively arduous journey.

"In order for males to find children and fertilize successfully, they have to travel very far through dangerous terrain , " Copper Aitken-Palmer, the team leader, said.

Aitken-Palmer, the chief veterinarian at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (USA), explained that the female bear breeding season lasts from February to May every year. During this time, each female has only 1-3 days to receive sperm from the male. Previous research has mentioned this, but now we know what happens to male bears.

For three years, Aitken-Palmer's group evaluated seasonal correlations in testosterone levels, sperm density, testicular size, and sexual behavior of eight male bears raised at the Bear Farm. structure of China.

The researchers found that the male mating strength changed over time , and sperm produced three to five months before the females were ready. During this period, male bear testicles grew greatly, and their behavior also changed to find a partner.

"The bears are very good at knowing the attitudes of the female bears, so they don't mate outside the time of the bear's being , " said Rebecca Spindler, co-author of the study.

Although the ready-to-mate stage of male and female bears is very different, the researchers believe that this process helps the bear save energy relatively effectively, ensuring that the male has enough sperm in the offspring. what is welcome Hormonal changes leading to male behavioral changes take place for months of the year. By the breeding season, the amount of hormones, behavior and sperm count of male bears decreases, so their fertility will end in June. These changes help males successfully mate with more females. The better, it saves energy consumption.

Each year, the female bears give birth to 1-2 animals, so the process of increasing the number of natural bears is difficult and slow. Currently only less than 1,600 large pandas remain in forest areas in central China.

Another study, conducted by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, shows that by 2080, the panda's habitat will lose nearly 10,000 square miles due to the effects of climate change.

Currently pandas are being kept captive in some places. The Smithsonian Institution's zoo is also raising Mei Xiang and Tian Tian pandas. This year, Mei Xiang has not yet entered the estrus stage.