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The panda roams in a welldefined homerange
of between 3.9 and 12 km2. Until recently, much of what
we knew about pandas came from research at the Wolong Nature
Reserve in Sichuan.
Studies
here showed that the panda lived a solitary existence, meeting
only occasionally with other pandas, except during the very
brief mating season in late spring or early summer when
several males come together and compete for a female. A
female is on heat for two to three days.
However, research from Shaanxi Province's Qinling Mountains
now gives us a different perspective. Pandas in Qinling
live and travel in groups of at least two, and sometimes
in groups of up to 28. So the panda is more social then
first thought.
Unlike some other bears, the panda does not hibernate. Its
cubs are fairly small at birth, weighing only 90 to 130
gm, but, fully grown, it can weigh 100kg and over. Newborn
cubs have little fur and are very delicate. Infant mortality
is also high. The average life span is 18 to 20 years in
the wild, and up to 30 years in captivity.
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