Human Assistance in a Giant Panda Mother for Rearing Her Baby

27 Mar Human Assistance in a Giant Panda Mother for Rearing Her Baby

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Abstract

English Abstract

In 2004,after the giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)mother Shuqing(No.pedigree 480) gave birth,she was able to hold her baby and keep him warm,but she did not know how to suckle him.With our assistance,the baby can suckle and now he is very healthy.This study tracks the cub’s growth from birth to 160 days of age.We recorded how many times the cub nursed daily,when he was suckled,and how much the milk consumed per day etc.The data from this study suggested: 1) A panda mother that did not know how to nurse her baby could successfully rear her baby with human assistance;2) The cub’s nursing time decreased from 12 times per day(1～6 d) to about 2 times per day(after 48 d).The distribution average nursing time of has four peaks and four lows per day within the first 80 days;3) The relationship between the amount of mother’s milk the baby consumed per day(y) and the baby’s age(x) during the first 35 days could be described as the expressions : y = 6.2228 x + 11.184(R~2 = 0.9258).After 35 days the amount of mother’s milk the baby consumed per day increased irregularly;4) The rate of amount of mother’s milk consumed per day to baby’s body weight was 30.22±1.31 % in 1～19 days,which was at high levels post delivery,but after 95 days it decreased gradually and stabilized at a low level of 3.92±0.10 %.收