Abstract
Little is known about the resting sites used by the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), which restricts our understanding of their resting habits and limits conservation efforts. To enhance our understanding of resting site requirements and factors affecting the resting time of giant pandas, we investigated the characteristics of resting sites in the Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The results indicated that the resting sites of giant pandas were characterised by a mean slope of 21°, mean nearest tree size of 53.75 cm, mean nearest shrub size of 2.82 cm, and mean nearest bamboo number of 56. We found that the resting sites were closer to bamboo than to trees and shrubs, suggesting that the resting site use of giant pandas is closely related to the presence of bamboo. Considering that giant pandas typically rest near a large-sized tree, protection of large trees in the forests is of considerable importance for the conservation of this species. Furthermore, slope was found to be an important factor affecting the resting time of giant pandas, as they tended to rest for a relatively longer time in sites with a smaller degree of slope.
Highlights
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a rare and endangered species, which is mainly distributed in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces of China[1]
A complete understanding of habitat requirements is very important for giant panda protection[5] because it can provide a scientific basis for habitat restoration, planning, and management[6,7,8]
We were interested in the slope of the habitat and the nature of the surrounding vegetation because these are important factors affecting the habitat use of the giant panda[12,14,30,36,37]
Summary
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a rare and endangered species, which is mainly distributed in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces of China[1]. We were interested in the slope of the habitat and the nature of the surrounding vegetation (trees, shrubs, and bamboo) because these are important factors affecting the habitat use of the giant panda[12,14,30,36,37] We hope this timely report will provide basic data for understanding the resting habits of giant pandas and serve as an important reference for giant panda protection
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