Say What?
Posted at 9:16 am March 13, 2006 by Suzanne Hall
One of the major foci of our panda research program has been the elucidation of chemical communication in the giant panda. We have intensively studied what motivates a bear to leave scent marks, what the composition of those scent marks is, and what the response of the receiver is when encountering a scent mark. We know that this chemical messaging system is very important to this solitary species, as wild pandas rarely see one another and so do not often communicate face to face.
But what happens when they do? How do adult bears communicate once they are in close proximity? When pandas are in close quarters, other types of communication come into play: vocalizations and posturing.
Our ethogram, which is a list of all behaviors we are interested in studying and recording, describes eleven different vocalizations that an adult might emit: the bleat, chirp, bark, moan, growl, honk, roar, chomp, huff, snort, and agonsitic (combative) squeal. The bleat and chirp are friendly sounds, made when a panda is not aggressive towards another, and very common during breeding encounters when both the male and female are receptive to each other. The honk is a signal of agitation or discontent, and bears often emit this vocalization when they are hungry, stressed or irritated. The bark, moan, and chomp are low-level aggressive sounds, serving as a warning to another bear that the signaler is agitated. The growl and snort generally come into play when bears are very agitated and aggressive, perhaps when lunging at another bear. The roar, as you might predict, signals a very high level of aggression and is generally only heard in the context of fighting. The squeal is heard in breeding encounters or fights when a bear is on the “losing end” of the battle.
In addition to the adult vocalizations above, our ethogram lists five vocalizations important in the mother-cub relationship: the cry, loud squawk, soft squawk, croak, and whimper. Our research has also focused heavily on how these vocalizations play a role in ensuring that the cub is well cared for by its mother, and how the mother invests her time while in the den.
Physical forms of communication also come into play when bears are in close proximity. Our ethogram describes “transactions,” or social interactions between bears, that range in character from friendly to aggressive. A bear can turn away from another when it wants to ignore a social partner. It can crouch low to appear submissive or unthreatening. It can certainly run away from another bear in response to a threat. At its highest level, aggression takes the form of a physical attack, replete with paw swats, bites, and wrestling. In the context of social play, most commonly seen among young bears or in the mother-cub relationship, our ethogram describes a “play face” that may be seen if a panda is trying to instigate mischief.
Although the panda is solitary by nature, they have a fairly diverse repertoire of social expressions that they can employ. Most of the elements of this repertoire come into play under very specific circumstances: during breeding encounters or during the maternal care phase of a panda’s life. As a result, you won’t see much evidence of this communication when watching captive pandas much of the time. Visit the facility during breeding seasons or when there is a young cub present, however, and you might be fortunate enough to get in on the conversation!
Suzanne Hall is the panda research technician for the San Diego Zoo’s Office of Giant Panda Conservation.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
March 13th, 2006 at 9:41 am
I could swear I once read you use the term ” chuffing sounds” made by a cub but I can’t find it now. I always thought that was a great word. Did I imagine it?
March 13th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Marco #1: pandas do not chuff, but tigers do. Maybe you read that in a blog from one of the tiger keepers?
March 13th, 2006 at 10:38 am
What an interesting blog!
March 13th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Last Saturday during my visit (the day of rain, wind and hail), at the end of the day, Gao Gao was vocalizing while pacing through his exhibit. The sound he was making sounded to me like bleating, like he was looking forward to his dinner. He was practically skipping! He walked really fast. Does he vocalize everyday? Then, a few minutes after he was let in, rain started to fall again. Considering that Gao Gao is not a big fan of rain, I wonder if he knew…
March 13th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
It was really interesting to read about panda communication. I was wondering if they are solitary from choice or circumstance? With there not being many pandas, especially in the wild, may that be why they are solitary? I know that in other zoos pandas are kept together. They used to do that in the London Zoo as well when they had pandas.
I hope Su Lin lets you get some photos soon.
March 13th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Very interesting, Suzanne. I’ve only heard panda vocalizations from watching the NPZ cam when Tai Shan was a squawking little guy. It’s amazing how much noise a little newborn panda can make! Are there videos/DVD’s available about the SDZ pandas? I would love to see more of their personalities and behaviors.
Editor’s note: A DVD about pandas is available online at ShopZoo.com
March 13th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Gao Gao was doing some serious scent marking when I saw him last Fri. 3/10 in the late afternoon, including 3 macho handstands. Apparently this is mating season and he’s marking territory in preparation, even though Bai Yun won’t mate this year while she is still nursing Su. Thanks to the intrepid commentator on duty at the exhibit who was very informative.
March 13th, 2006 at 11:15 pm
Great information…thanks for telling us about how they communicate in so many different ways and what the vocalizations mean. I’ve been wondering about their solitary lifestyle. Is it perhaps because they need so much bamboo and get very territorial in order to protect it, not wanting to share what they claim because there isn’t a great deal available? Might they be more social if there was an abundance of bamboo? The cubs in Wolong seem to enjoy one another and the pandas here and in Washington respond to the keepers in a curious and friendly way.
March 14th, 2006 at 5:08 am
Suzanne, I’m curious about something. Do the researchers think that the social make-up of the pandas could be changed over time with all the controlled breeding in China and around the rest of the world. Like all the little bears that are now in kindergarten in China – they’re growing up together. Do they think that maybe those that are returned to the wild will search out other Pandas because that’s how they grew up? It would be nice if that happened. It seems like such a lonely life the wild pandas live.
I just had a thought – do you think the cubs chosen to be returned to the wild will be separated from the rest of the cubs at an early age so they don’t have a chance to socialize too much? That’s sad to think about.
Thanks for all the great updates, Suzanne.
March 14th, 2006 at 5:15 am
This is wonderful information! Thank you! My favorite cub vocalization came some months ago, in an incident another DC commenter noted: Tai was still inside then and had climbed to the heights of the exhibit, only to fall off a narrow ledge at the rear. Apparently, he was so embarrassed that he scurried to the den to recover his composure–barking at Mei on the way. Mei is the sweetest of creatures, and I’ve always wondered how stunned she must have been by this ” strong language” !! We’ve also been told in NZP updates that Mei has bleated to Tai, a ” contact” call, a way to check in. About a month ago, we heard a very constant moaning-like sound whenever Tian was outside one weekend. It was quite intense! He’s normally a high-maintenance bear, but this seemed urgent, and we wondered then if he was having his rut or if Mei had come into estrus. There was no word on either, but would a moan be a sound emitted by a male who can not get to his female of choice at that overwhelming hormonal moment? Most of the other vocalizations as described seem quite brief and could not really describe what we heard.
I’m a bit behind, but thank you so much for all of the Su Lin and Bai Yun pictures of the Mud Day! Just wonderful! They clearly had so much fun!
March 14th, 2006 at 7:55 am
are ya gonna print a panda dictionary? such fascinating bears! i know that all us pandaheads appreciate learning about all your hard work for these amazing bears. thanks so much for sharing your hard earned knowledge!
March 14th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Thank you for the great information, Suzanne. I’d like to add something about Panda body language: I found a great video posted by a Pandarazzi who spends hours photographing the DC Pandas. It shows Mei Xiang and Bubba Tai during an especially playful morning in February. Tai and his mother wrestled and played around the deadfall, biting and head butting, then he chased her (at a GALLOP) down to a small incline and they wrestled and rolled around for a few minutes. Tai encouraged his mother’s playful mood by standing up (Big Boy Bear!), then flinging himself backwards to roll on the ground. He also bounced excitedly on his front paws and bobbed his head. Mei finally went over to Tai’s tortured, warped little snoozing tree and actually managed to hoist her bulk up onto the horizontal part of the tiny trunk! Tai was beside himself with excitement, flinging himself around on the ground below, rolling and grabbing low-hanging branches and biting them. Mei turned sideways and did a FORWARD SOMERSAULT over the tree trunk, ending up hanging by her front paws, and Tai went wild, climbing up to bite at her head and ears until she grabbed him with one paw, plucked him off the tree, and dropped him to the ground. They trotted over to another tree and Tai tried to climb it while Mei threw herself backwards and rolled on the ground wearing her biggest happy face. The taped gasps, laughter, and comments of the zoogoers are almost as entertaining as the bears.
Your description of Su Lin and Bai Yun’s ecstatic rolling in the dirt pile came to mind. It seems that a madly happy bear just can’t help throwing throwing itself over backwards and rolling in glee!
March 14th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
When Bai Yun is relaxed or napping and the caretakers call her to go inside, she often makes a vocalization. Is this a honk? Is it the same sound she will make when Su Lin calls to her?
March 14th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
#12 – I saw the same joy and glee as you did!!! I don’t think I have ever laughed so much WITH Mama Mei and Tai.
March 17th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Pamela, thanks for the vivid rendering of Mei and Tai’s playful adventure. I missed seeing it on the cam but your telling was the next best thing.These bears are such characters, aren’t they?
Love ‘em,
love ‘em,
love ‘em!!!