DAILY ACTIVITY OF CAPTIVE GIANT PANDAS (AILUROPODA-MELANOLEUCA) AT THE WOLONG RESERVE

Daytime activity patterns of captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanole uca) (n = 21) were observed for 2 week periods during October 1991 and January, April, and July 1992- A daytime bimodal activity pattern was seen with increased activity coinciding with feeding times at 1000 an d 1600 h. The animals spent an average of 40 +/- 10% of their time sle eping, 21 +/- 10% resting, 25 +/- 11% eating, 13 +/- 9% walking, and 1 +/- 3% interacting with other giant pandas. Adult females were less a ctive than males or juveniles. During July, giant pandas were less act ive during the daytime than during other seasons of the year. There wa s no difference in activity patterns between pregnant and non-pregnant females. Two infants had similar activity patterns to the adults by t he time they were 6 months old. Comparison with wild giant pandas (n = 5) at the Wolong Nature Reserve revealed similar bimodal activity cyc les, although the time of peak activity differed and foraging/feeding time was greater for wild pandas than for captive animals. (C) 1994 Wi ley Liss, Inc.