Chapter 10 - The Early Days: Maternal Behaviour and Infant Development

Abstract

This chapter discusses the maternal and infant behavior in early days of red panda. The red panda is an altricial species as is the giant panda. Both are similar in their degree of helplessness. The giant panda is referred to, as the most altricial of all eutherian mammals; more than 99% of body growth and 99.9% of brain growth are post-natalin Ailuropoda. In the red panda, 98% of growth is postnatal; the maturation of the cub is attenuated. The first 3–4 months of life are spent in the den, and red panda mothers face substantial challenges in rearing their offspring. The data provided in this chapter refer solely to zoo animals; there is virtually no information available on maternal behavior in the wild. From this discussion, it can be said that the ontogeny of behavior of red panda scan be divided in two main phases which have several distinct stages: First, the denning phase (first 3 months) which is characterized by physical maturation and the development of locomotion, grooming, nest building, vocal, social, and play behaviors. Second, the juvenile phase or the time between leaving the den and social weaning (3–approx.8 months) is characterized by high levels of exploratory behavior, perfection of locomotor abilities (especially climbing), learning to for age, and toe at solid foods and by training social behaviors during play or encounters with unknown adult conspecifics.