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April 28, 2017

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Cameras capture insight to panda courtship ritual

Source: Xinhua | 00:01 UTC+8 April 28, 2017 | Print Edition

INFRARED cameras have captured a fascinating insight into the courtship rituals of pandas in the Wolong National Nature Reserve in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

FOOTAGE has revealed adult pandas smelling trees for scent before climbing on to their hind legs and urinating on the trunk of a tree in a upside-down position.

Staff at the reserve’s Mujiangping protection station have also witnessed this behavior.

“Giant pandas usually claim their territory and show a willingness to seek out a partner by urinating on a tree trunk, scratching and tearing at tree bark,” said Shi Xiaogang, head of the protection station. “The behavior becomes more frequent in mating season, which falls between April and May.”

Three cameras were installed in the Laoya mountainous area last December to view the behavioral patterns of China’s most famous animal. Over the last few months, footage has revealed this unusual mating ritual employed by pandas of urinating while doing a handstand.

Pandas are generally solitary animals and live in well-defined territories between 3-7 square kilometers. Ten wild pandas are known to live in the densely populated Laoya mountain area of over 20 square kilometers.

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