Cub resting on tree branches.
I primarily focus on the maternal care study for the Winter Internship at Bifengxia, so I thought it’d be appropriate for me to talk about the different mothers I observe. I will focus on 3 mothers in this blog post – Qiao Qiao, Xi Dou, and Su Shan. All three have been taking care of more than one cub these past few weeks so I’ve spent over 10 hours observing them. Unfortunately, the mothers and cubs stay in the Breeding Centre, which is a private area, so I could not take pictures. However, I am including pictures of some of the public kindergarten cubs.
Cub walking on a light dusting of snow.
Qiao Qiao #860
Qiao Qiao was the first mother I observed and the most “rewarding” because I know I’ll always get a bunch of mother-infant interactions with her. She is a very protective mother and rarely departs from the infant for more than a few minutes. She will drag the bamboo to where the infant is so she can be in contact with the infant while feeding. When the keepers clean the pen, they lock the shift door separating the bedrooms and this sometimes result in separating the cubs from the mother. A keeper told me that Qiao Qiao has strong maternal instincts and once grabbed her cub through the bars when they were separated. Qiao Qiao’s infants also enjoy being close to their mother and will follow her around when she’s locomoting. Qiao Qiao is the cleanest panda I have seen and only poops in the corner of her pen.
Cub beginning its ascent up a tree.
Xi Dou #654
Xi Dou is a more laidback mother, which is the opposite of Qiao Qiao. She does not have a lot of stereotypic behaviours so oftentimes, she will be feeding, playing with her cubs, or sleeping. If Xi Dou is feeding, there isn’t much you can do to get her attention. The cubs will interact with Xi Dou by nudging her or climbing on her, but that still doesn’t get her to stop munching on that bamboo. Xi Dou doesn’t mind having her cubs stray from her, but if it’s time for licking, then she will arm cradle the cubs and lick continuously for up to 20 minutes at a time. Xi Dou also likes playing with her cubs a lot, which include gentle bites, pick-ups, and pawing. She likes to lie on her back and have the cubs on her belly. I would say Xi Dou is a calm mother; knowing when to keep them close and when to let them go.
Furballs sleeping in a tree.
Su Shan #827
In contrast to Xi Dou, Su Shan is a highly stereotypic bear and she spends a good chunk of time pacing around her bedrooms while head tossing at corners and turns. However, Su Shan also loves playing with her cubs. Similar to Xi Dou, she likes to lie on her back and have the cubs on her belly. Su Shan likes to gently bite her cubs and carry them around with her mouth. She can get a little rough with the cubs such as when she head-butts or paw swipes at them which can send them sliding 50cm away. Su Shan has really well-behaved and independent cubs that rarely vocalize to get their mother’s attention. The cubs wrestle with each other a lot and like climbing on the bamboo sticks.
Cub sitting on the stairs.
I have really enjoyed observing mother-infant interactions in the last few months, and I am grateful for the opportunity to witness the growth and development of the infants up-close. It helps that the cubs are so darn cute! Best job ever.
View of the newly renovated kindergarten.
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Mingfei Li is studying giant pandas from December to February at Bifengxia working on the stereotypical and maternal care studies.
You have written an excellent report detailing the differences in mother cub behavior. I think you’re a great observer and writer. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and am glad PDXWildlife chose you as an intern.
Su Shan was raised completely by her keepers at the Panda Kindergarten and Nursery. Surrogate mothers were not used when she was born and her mother and twin sister went to Hetaoping to be part of the reintroduction program. I have always wondered what kind of mother Su Shan would be, given her upbringing, so this report has been very interesting to me.
Thank you for taking the time to write a great report.
Thank you for your kind words Charlene. It’s very interesting to know some background info on Su Shan’s upbringing. I am curious what kind of mother she will become in the future.
Have the cubs been named?
Thank you for the wonderful story about the three mothers!!
Thank you for the wonderful story about the three mothers! Have the cubs been named or do they “milk names”?
Wonderful.Thank you so much for letting me know. What a wonderful job you have and are doing!
Patricia
Best job in the world! Looking forward to more reports.
Mingfei has such a good blogging style! I will miss her 🙂
Best job ever!
Love reading your observations! I guess “panda mothering” is on a continuum from” helicopter mom” to “let’s play”! I love to hear about it through scientific eyes – I’d be too busy saying “AW” to notice anything! So, THANK YOU!
Best of luck in your future!
Sincerely, JoAnn Mann
I just finished an analysis (hope to publish within the next couple of months) that shows that mothers who have cubbed before are more relaxed about their offspring than inexperienced mothers! Just like human moms the first timers tend to “mess with” and “helicopter” their babies more than inexperienced mothers – HA HA HA. I can’t wait to pair this data with my personality data though!!
Very interesting. Thanks for the write-up!
Thank you for the comment! Mingfei is a great behavioral observer – I think she’s found her calling!
Thank you for the wonderful story about our mother pandas. Have the cubs been named, or have “milk names?”
Thanks for being an avid reader Patricia! As far as I can tell the cubs have the normal “Xiao (Mother’s Name)” right now 🙂 With the move to the kindergartens I’m sure a name list is in the making though!
Hi Mingfei, I really enjoyed reading your blog. Do you know if the mother bear always nurses her own cubs or if they will be given different cubs to nurse? It will be interesting to know if the mother recognises her own cubs and vice versa. Thanks.
Karen, they often do get some foster cubs! We’re tracking the behaviors toward the different cubs so we can look at this exact question! Keep the observations and pondering coming – sometimes you guys have the best ideas that we can then convert to scientific projects easily with the data we’ve collected 🙂 We’ll definitely have to come up with a citizen science project soon with the panda cams!