Seasonal energy utilization in bamboo by the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)

Seasonal energy intake and digestion of bamboo by red pandas were measured in energy balance trials at the field station at an altitude of 3,100 m in Yele Natural Reserve, Mianning County of Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China. Two-week trials were conducted at monthly intervals by feeding a nimals with only natural bamboo browse, Bashania spanostachya, from May to November 1995. Results demonstrated that energy intake, digestible energy, and digestibility differed significantly among seasons and diets. Energy di gestibilities were high in summer-autumn, intermediate in spring, and low i n winter. These variations correlated positively with the nutrient contents of bamboo. The daily metabolic energy requirement measured varied from 2,6 03.3 kJ in the springs to 3,139.8 in the summer-autumn to 2,740.8 kJ in the winter. The results also showed that shoots were more easily digested than leaves and exhibited the highest digestibility. Restricted by the capacity of digestive tracts, red pandas poorly utilized the energy provided by bam boo as indicated by the lower energy digestibility (averaging 26.47% for le aves and 44.08% for shoots among the seasons). To fulfill their daily energ y requirements, red pandas ingested a large amount of energy from bamboo le aves, which varied from 10,145.8 kJ in the spring, 12,045.1 kJ in the summe r-autumn, and 12,276.9 kJ in the winter to maximize the rate of energy inta ke. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.