Panda passion: Bears that care are more likely to produce cubs, study finds

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Successful mating among pandas is far more likely when both bears show a romantic interest in each other, scientists says. Photo: SCMP Picture

Published: 12:45pm, 16 Dec 2015Updated: 5:51am, 17 Dec 2015

In pandas as in people, it appears that passion prevails.

Scientists studying captive breeding of the endangered bears said on Tuesday pandas are far more likely to mate successfully and produce cubs when they show through a complex series of behaviours a preference for a potential mate.

When giant pandas in captive breeding experiments displayed no such preference, despite being deemed genetically suitable as a pair, their chances of successfully mating dropped to zero.

“Incorporating mate choice into conservation breeding programmes could make a huge difference for the success of many endangered species breeding programs, increasing cost-effectiveness and overall success,” said conservation biologist Meghan Martin-Wintle of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

Mission accomplished. A four-month-old baby female panda is pictured at Malaysia’s National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA

The study involved more than 40 pandas at a conservation and research centre in Sichuan province. Pandas were put in large open-air enclosures where they could choose between two potential mates.

When both a male and a female showed a preference for each other, there was about an 80 per cent chance they would produce a cub. When only one of the two showed a preference for the other, there was about a 50 per cent chance they would produce a cub.