Giant panda behavior across a coupled human and natural system

Background/Question/Methods

One of the central questions in ecology concerns how animals behave across space and negotiate coupled human and natural systems, contested spaces where humans and nature undergo complex interactions. One such species is the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), a large mammal of international conservation concern that is native to increasingly fragmented forest habitat in southwestern China.  The panda is an elusive animal whose behavior in the wild is not well understood, in large part due to a nearly 15-year government ban on all telemetry studies on the species.  We conducted a novel study on the behavior of wild giant pandas inhabiting the Wolong Nature Reserve in China, where we used GPS collars to collect data on their locations every two hours for a period of two years.  We analyzed the data using a variety of methods including resource selection functions (RSFs) and spatio-temporal interaction indices to explore both habitat selection patterns and inter-panda relationships.

Results/Conclusions  

Our analysis revealed new information about the species, such as the fact that the pandas in our study area did not appear to select against steep slopes as previously documented and pandas interacted more frequently with one another across shared space than previously expected.  Our study also has important implications for understanding the impact of humans on giant pandas and their habitat.  We documented that giant pandas avoided areas used intensively by grazing livestock owned by local residents and also roamed extensively across zoning ordinances intended to separate pandas from human activities.  We discuss ways to integrate these new findings into management planning for this endangered species, while also exploring the broader implications of this study for applying knowledge on animal behavior to modeling and managing complex coupled human and natural systems worldwide.