The effects of sex, reproductive condition and context on discrimination of conspecific odours by giant pandas

• Published in: Animal behaviour Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 227 - 237
• Main Authors: Swaisgood, Ronald R, Lindburg, Donald G, Zhou, Xiaoping, Owen, Megan A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kent Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2000; Elsevier; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Ltd
• Subjects: Ailuropoda melanoleuca; Animal communication; Animal ethology; Animal reproduction; Bears; Biological and medical sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Mammalia; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Sexual behavior; Smell; Vertebrata; Asia; China; Chemical communication; Breeding season; Animal communication; Intraspecific relation; Sexual behavior; Breeding behavior; Trail laying; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Territorial behavior; Social interaction; Animal tagging; Captivity; Estrous cycle; Reproductive cycle; Stimulus discrimination

To elucidate some of the functions of chemical communication in giant pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, we systematically exposed captive males, oestrous and nonoestrous females to each others' odours by providing access to one another's temporarily unoccupied enclosures. In comparison with...