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Facts Information and Panda Bears FAQ Questions
Pandas breed once a year. Mating
season is from March to May and individual females are in heat from 2 to 7
days. During her heat, a female may mate with several males.
After the female's egg has been fertilized, it divides a few times, then
it floats free in the uterus for several weeks and does not develop
further. In June or July, the embryo attaches to the uterine wall and
develops. Young are born 8 weeks later, from August to September.
Female pandas deliver 1 to 2 cubs in a rock cavity or hollow tree.
Baby pandas weigh only 90 to 130
grams (3.5 to 4 oz.) at birth - about 1/900th of its mother's
weight. Litters of one or two cubs are born. If two cubs are born, the
mother usually abandons the weaker cub, and it dies soon after birth.
Infant mortality is high - baby pandas are susceptible to illness and
predators (leopards, packs of wild dogs, and eagles).
Cubs are born blind and open their eyes at about 45 days. Young cubs need
to nurse as many as 12 times per day. Mothers may leave the den for 3 to 4
hours to feed, leaving the cub vulnerable to predation.
At birth, pandas have white skin. Within 2 weeks, their skin turns gray
where eventually the hair will be black. Cubs have panda fur coloration
within one month after birth.
The cub starts to crawl at 75 to 90 days. Cubs and mothers play: the
mother rolls the cub and wrestles with it and the cub climbs on the
mother's back.
Cubs start to eat bamboo at 5 months and are weaned at 6 months. The cub
weighs 35 kilograms (80 pounds) at one year and lives with its mother
until 18 months.
Panda's reach sexually maturity when they are 4.5 to 6.5 years old.
When is the mating season for
Giant Pandas?
The mating season of Giant Pandas ranges from January to June, most from
March to May.
Does a Giant Panda remain with
one mating partner throughout its life?
The female pandas may mate with more than one male in a single mating
season to ensure successful fertilization.
How long does the pandas' heat
lasts?
Pandas' heat lasts about 12-25days, but its high mating heats lasts only
2-7days, average 3days.
When do female Giant Pandas come
into heat (oestrus) and can become pregnant?
In the female Giant Pandas, reproductive (oestrus) cycle commonly occurs
once a year during months between January and June. During the cycle,
there is a small window of time of 1 to 3 days when successful
fertilization can take place and the female shows oestrous behaviour in
allowing a male to mount and mate with her. The female may mate with more
than one male panda to secure successful fertilization, which results in
pregnancy.
How long is the pregnancy (gestration)
period?
The gestation period ranges from 83-163 days, 135 days is the average.
Newborn usually was birth from Jul to Sep.
How many cubs can a female panda
give birth to in a pregnancy?
It is common to have 1 to 2 cubs in a litter. However, only one cub will
receive enough care from the mother to survive. A panda cub is born blind,
almost bold and completely helpless, therefore, it demands undivided
attention, leaving the mother little or no time and energy to care for a
second cub. To have three cubs in a litter is very rare.
How much does a newly born cub
weigh?
A newly born cub weighs about 90g to130g (3-5 oz), in the order of 1/900th
of the adult's weight.
When does a Giant Panda cub
become independent of its mother?
A giant panda cub becomes independent of its mother at about 1 to 1.5
years of age. It leaves its mother's territory to establish his own and
fends for itself. The female panda is then able to give birth again.
What is the Pre-training for a pandas
reintroduction to the wild?
The aim is to give captive pandas a good chance to survive by
themselves in the wild. By reducing rely on human raising, training
pandas to search for food, water and avoiding predators they are learnt
how to survive step by step in a pure, very largest nature enclosure
almost without any net, at last return them back to the nature and
increase the wild pandas population, to increase their wilderness.
The 1st panda (male) "Xiangxiang" has been trained in since 08Jul 2003
with a small tracking device, "Xiangxiang" home as 27000 square meters,
till 2006, everything still on going. "Xiangxiang" to be more wild now,
not "lovely" again now. And his 27000 square meters home is more closer
to the animal's natural habitat. And Scientists plan to return the
penned panda to the nature in 2006. His ID is: 00016BC07C.
Xiangxiang is died in Jan 2007.
All above information for your reference only |