Why Do Pandas Have So Much Trouble Reproducing?
While every pregnancy is a miracle, a pregnant panda is almost a wonder of the world. For these animals, reproduction isn’t easy. Why is that? Partly because of ... their gut bacteria.
The giant panda is a vulnerable species. This is mainly due to humans occupying their natural habitat and cutting down their source of food (bamboo). However, it is also due to the animals themselves: pandas have difficulty reproducing.
Few opportunities
First of all, there are not many reproductive opportunities: female pandas have only one fertile period a year, which lasts for just 40 hours. As a result it is very difficult for these solitary animals to meet at just the right time in the wild. What is more, the time when the females are on heat does not even coincide with the time when the males want to mate.
Moreover, when the males sense that the females are not in the mood, they are not very pushy. This makes sense, since female pandas can be quite picky when it comes to choosing a mate. If they do start becoming intimate, it turns out that the males are also very clumsy at this, so in many cases there is still no result.
Gut flora influences libido
That is not all. Scientists in Beijing also suspect that the giant panda's gut flora affects its libido. They analysed the droppings of 20 different male giant pandas, some of which had mated successfully while others had not.
The results revealed a striking difference between the two groups: the pandas that were able to mate well had a significantly higher presence of Clostridium bacteria in the gut. The research team believes that these bacteria could influence the "urge" to reproduce. So what is their proposed solution? Provide a menu for all pandas containing more shoots and flavonoids (which are present in fruit and vegetables). This could improve the gut bacteria of the male pandas.
Abdominal pain during pregnancy
Giant pandas’ bamboo diet also causes reproductive problems. While pandas love bamboo, they can’t actually digest it properly. Researchers in the United States believe these digestive problems can have negative effects on pregnancy as well. Since the mucous membranes in the intestines break down during pregnancy, female pandas suffer from a lot of abdominal pain and stop eating. The result is that the fetus fails to develop and they miscarry.
Intensive task
Even if everything goes right and the pregnancy goes to term, it is by no means certain that the baby panda will survive after birth. After all, raising one is quite an intensive job: the tiny, blind baby panda is virtually incapable of doing anything for the first few weeks. When multiple young are born in the wild, a female panda will put all her energy into nurturing just one of her offspring. The rest of the litter are abandoned - regardless of all the trouble involved in conceiving them.