China News Service, Chengdu, April 13 (Long Tingting, Jiang Wenlong, Liu Cui) The Giant Panda National Park Administration announced on the 13th a rare scene of two wild giant pandas fighting fiercely.
This is also the first record of wild panda fights in the Sichuan area of the Giant Panda National Park.
It is understood that on April 12, the patrol team of the Xinyi Jiuziping Agreement Reserve of the Giant Panda National Park found a rare scene of two wild giant pandas fighting fiercely in the recovered infrared photographing data.
The shooting point was located at an altitude of 2054 meters, and the shooting time was from 23:47 on December 9th to 1:04 am on December 10th last year. There were 9 videos in total and 20 valid photos.
In the video, on the snowy ground in the dark winter night, two wild pandas fought face to face like sumo wrestlers. First they hugged each other's heads and bit each other. Then one raised the abdomen of the other with its head, and fell over the shoulders. The giant panda at the top was not to be outdone, a hug and slammed his opponent tightly on the snow, and then the suppressed giant panda rose up to resist and threw out a "lion head" shape.
Immediately afterwards, they smashed into a ball, the forelegs tangled, and the hind feet wrestled with each other.
During the intermission, the panda with a colorful face was bitten on the back of the neck by the other one. The two pandas stood and panted. The battle continued after a while.
The whole fight lasted for 17 minutes, and finally ended with one leaving.
The picture taken by an infrared camera.
Photo courtesy of the Giant Panda National Park Service
According to Zhang Hemin, the executive deputy director of the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center and an expert on the Giant Panda National Park, "After years of observation of wild pandas, it is generally said that pandas in the wild meet or fight for territory. I have seen physical contact and fierce fighting usually only occurs when pandas are courting during the breeding season. Although it is a bit early for the giant pandas to estrus in December, there are records based on previous field observations. Such fierce fighting between the two pandas , It is a rare case of early estrus in winter. There should be two situations, one is two male pandas fighting for a mate, and the female panda should be nearby. Another situation is one male and one female, and the female has not yet reached the ovulation period. If I am willing to accept mating, I become angry and furious. I am more inclined to fight for the right of spouse if my face is scratched in a fight like this."
"'Fighting to recruit relatives' is a special way for giant pandas to reproduce their offspring. It allows the strong to have more mating opportunities, which is conducive to the continuation and evolution of the wild giant panda population. Recently, we have seen wild giant panda activities in our giant panda national park. Frequent mating grounds have been discovered everywhere, and giant pandas have even encountered fights and courtships, indicating that the wild giant panda population is prosperous and the giant panda habitat has been effectively protected.” Zhang Hemin said.
The picture taken by an infrared camera.
Photo courtesy of the Giant Panda National Park Service
"There are 7 giant pandas living in the Minshan A population in our area. After discovering two giant pandas fighting videos, we collected all the infrared camera data. There is no trace of the panda with injured face for the time being. Next, we plan to increase the monitoring range closely. Pay attention to its whereabouts. At present, 30 cameras are installed in our protected area.” said Zhong Junde, the patrol captain of the Xinyiping Community Reserve.
It is reported that the Jiuzipinggou Community Reserve in Xinyi Village, Pingwu County is located in one of the 35 vacant areas in the world’s priority protection areas. Since the pilot of the giant panda national park system, a community reserve was established in 2017. The monitoring team carried out monitoring of key species in the region, forest protection and fire prevention, and anti-poaching patrols. The resources here are effectively managed and protected. The local community’s tradition of “sitting on mountains and eating mountains instead of raising mountains” is gradually changing, and the relationship between man and nature is actively realized. Harmonious coexistence has also become a model for the agreement protection of the Giant Panda National Park.
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