Comparison Study Of Microhabitat Selection And Foraging Strategy Between The Released Zhangxiang And Wild Giant Pandas, And Study Of Maternal Den In Liziping Nature Reserve

The giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca), living at the fragmented habitats in Sichuan, Shanxi, Gansu provinces, is one of the most precious endangered animals. It has been discovered that it’s hard for the isolated small populations to self-sustain. However, reintroduction was proved to be an effective way for the giant panda to rejuvenate population. The acclimatization enclosure was built in 2012, at the Liziping Nature Reserve. O ne year later, the female giant panda Zhangxiang(pedigree number 826) who was born in Wolong Nature Reserve, was transported into the acclimatization enclosure in the Liziping Nature Reserve.Before Zhangxiang left the enclosure into the wild, we conducted the first study to compare microhabitats and foraging strategies between Zhangxiang in the enclosure and giant pandas in the wild. Compared with the latter, microhabitats of Zhangxiang in the enclosure are characteristic of gentler slope, more trees, higher canopy, smaller tree DBH, and lower density of living bamboos. Diet composition and foraging behaviors significantly differed between Zhangxiang and wild giant pandas, perhaps reflecting the combined consequence of environmental conditions(e.g., bamboo species) and individual status(e.g., age, mastication ability, etc.). The difference in microhabitats and foraging strategies between Zhangxiang and wild giant pandas implied that after being released into the natural habitat in the reserve, Zhangxiang will have to adapt to the environmental conditions once again.We also surveyed nursery dens in the nature reserve. Random forest(RF), a complex model of machine learning, was used to explore the significance of each variables for maternal den. We found that almost all dens have some common characteristics, such as narrow entrance, roomy interior chambers and decent concealment. But we did not find any den in the enclosure, and that means the enclosure will never be an appropriate place for the pregnant giant panda or the cub.For future reintroduction, the established enclosure can be extended to the Bashania spanostachya forest in the reserve, and captive giant pandas for release can thus adapt the local environment gradually and normally transit into the wild without human intervention during acclimatization period. For other acclimatization enclosures to be constructed in the future, ecological environment inside, includ ing topography, forests, and bamboos as well, should as possible as can match the habitat that the giant panda to-be-reinforced populations inhabit. Meanwhile, the artificial maternal den should be built for the pregnant giant panda or the cub to experience the den selection. We also consider that it’s possible to perfect or rebuild the maternal den in the reserve for rejuvenating the local population.