The Complicated Sex Life of Pandas
Are they really too lazy to breed? 🐼❤️🐼
Idiom of the week: 使尽方法 (shǐ jǐn fāngfǎ)
Meaning: to try every possible means
These adorable black-and-white furry balls on YouTube videos and TikTok reels look too cute and too lazy to do anything apart from playing around and snacking on bamboo leaves. Apparently, many people think that giant pandas are even too lazy to breed.
But are they?
Despite the relentless efforts (使尽方法) of Chinese zookeepers and scientists (including broadcasting of “panda porn” in front of reluctant panda couples), breeding pandas in captivity remains very hard. The key word here is, however, “captivity”. In normal conditions, pandas are able to sustain their population just like any other bear. Provided that humans don’t destroy their natural habitat, of course.
As usual, it’s all humans’ fault. Let’s see what are the reasons behind pandas’ complicated sex life in the zoos:
圈养大熊猫最大的问题就是繁殖能力低下，以至于工作人员绞尽脑汁，使尽方法，也无法让一些大熊猫留下后代。至于大熊猫繁殖能力有多差，有一些事实会让你大吃一惊。
圈养 (juànyǎng) - captive, captivity
繁殖 (fánzhí) - reproduction
至于 (zhìyú) - (conjuction) as for, so much so
绞尽脑汁 (jiǎo jǐn nǎozhī) - rack your brains
使尽方法 (shǐ jǐn fāngfǎ) - try every possible means
大吃一惊 (dàchīyījīng) - be surprised
The biggest problem with captive (圈养) giant pandas is their low reproductive (繁殖) capacity, so much so (至于) that the zoo staff have racked their brains (绞尽脑汁) and tried every possible method (使尽方法), but still cannot make some giant pandas leave offspring. As for how poor the giant panda's reproductive capacity is, there are some facts that will surprise you (大吃一惊).
Pandas in Hong Kong zoo mated for the first time in 10 years amid coronavirus outbreak. Photo: abc news
野生动物通常有一个繁殖窗口期或者叫做FQ期，它们只会在窗口期交配，对于大部分动物而言可能是一个合适的季节，但是雌性大熊猫真正的窗口期只有40个小时左右!
因为大熊猫是极度适应独居的动物，不能把任何两只大熊猫放在一起养，所以工作员必须时刻关注雌性大熊猫的状态，不然一不小心就错过了。
繁殖窗口期 (fánzhí chuāngkǒu qī) - a breeding window
交配 (jiāopèi) - to mate
雌性 (cíxìng) - female (of animals); opposite: 雄性 (xióngxìng) - a male
独居动物 (dújū dòngwù) - solitary animals
Wild animals usually have a breeding window (繁殖窗口期), also called FQ period, and they will only mate (交配) during that time. For most animals, it may be during a suitable season, but the real breeding window period for female giant pandas lasts only about 40 hours!
Because giant pandas are very solitary animals (独居动物), no two pandas can be kept together, so the staff must always pay attention to the situation of females, otherwise they will accidentally miss their breeding window.
虽然雌性熊猫在生育方面已经非常不省心了，但圈养大熊猫真正的生育问题主要还不在雌性身上，而是在雄性大熊猫那里。
现在许多圈养的熊猫都是人工受精的，就是因为雄性大熊猫就像失去生育能力一样，对雌性没有兴趣，甚至经常在繁殖窗口期暴打雌性以宣誓领地，即便难得对雌性产生兴趣，它们也会因为无法爬到雌性的背上。
省心 (shěng xīn) - peace of mind, not worried
人工受精 (réngōng shòujīng) - artificial insemination
宣誓领地 (xuānshì lǐngdì) - to claim a territory
Although reproduction for female pandas is already very troublesome (不省心了), the real fertility problem of captive giant pandas is not mainly with females, but with males (雄性).
Now many captive pandas are artificially inseminated (人工受精) because male giant pandas seem to have lost their fertility and have no interest in females. They often beat them during their breeding window to claim their territory (宣誓领地), and even if they are interested in them, they won’t be able to climb on their backs.
We want more cute panda babies! Photo: Sky News
你可能听说过，为了让雄性大熊猫打起精神，熊猫饲养员甚至会给它们观看熊猫的“小电影”，但通常收效甚微。
最近由北京师范大学的科学团队发表在《生态与进化》杂志上的文章给出了一个答案——圈养雄性大熊猫的肠道微生物群落失衡可能是关键。
打起精神 (dǎ qǐ jīngshén) - to cheer, to lift spirits
收效甚微 (shōuxiào shèn wēi) - with little success
肠道 (cháng dào) - guts, intestines
肠道微生物群 (cháng dào wéishēngwù qún) - intestinal microbiome
You may have heard that in order to lift the spirits (打起精神) of the males, their keepers even show them "small films" starring pandas, but it usually has little effect (收效甚微).
A recent article published in the journal Ecology and Evolution by a scientific team from Beijing Normal University provides an answer - the imbalance of the intestinal microbiome(肠道微生物群) of captive male giant pandas may be the key.
野生大熊猫并不存在生育问题，在繁殖窗口期，雌性会用信息素吸引多只雄性到自己面前，并挑选自己新颖的对象，而雄性也会有很强的繁殖欲望，有被记录到它们在短短一下午就能完成数十次。
生育问题 (shēngyù wèntí) - fertility problems
信息素 (xìnxī sù) - pheromones
挑选 (tiāoxuǎn) - to select, to choose
新颖 (xīnyǐng) - new, novel, original
繁殖欲望 (fánzhí yùwàng) - reproductive desire
Wild giant pandas do not have fertility problems (生育问题). During the breeding window, females will use pheromones (信息素) to attract multiple males and choose (挑选) their own new (新颖) partners. Males will also have a strong desire to reproduce (繁殖欲望): it has been recorded that they can mate dozens of times in just one afternoon.
As you can see, pandas don’t get in the mood only in captivity; but can we blame them, really.
Antoine & Dorota