关键词: 圈养大熊猫, 行为, 母兽育幼, 双胞胎

Abstract: Captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) can have 1-2 cubs per litter; twins occur in 46.4% of births. In the case of twins,it is often difficult for the mother to nurse both cubs,thus she chooses one and rejects the other. In 2003, the captive giant panda “Meimei”(Stud No. 343)successfully nursed and raised twin male cubs (Longbin and Qiubin), the first known instance of this. We noted the following behaviors during the 6-month period after birth: The mother predominantly used 2 methods to pick up the cubs:holding both cubs in her mouth,and holding one in her mouth and placing the other beside her face. During the first 60 days,she nursed predominantly in an upright seated position. Her next most frequent position was lying on her side with the head and feet in contact with each other. Other behavioral positions were infrequent. The mother's activity level peaked on the day of birth and decreased dramatically to 35.2 ± 0.6% over the next 46 days. At 47 - 108 days, her activity increased to 42.2 ±0.6% and 109 - 180 days later,increased to 54.8± 0.9% . There was no significant ifference between cubs in the number of times/ day the mother nursed each or the duration of each nursing session. During the first 7 days,both cubs either leaned against the mother or were held by her (behavior B). At 7 -10 days, behavior B began to gradually decrease while three other behaviors emerged. At 21 - 23 days, behavior B significantly decreased while the behaviors of the mother covering the cubs (behavior C),remaining beside the cubs (behavior S)and being naturally apart from the cubs (behavior N)significantly increased. After 32 days,the time spent on behavior C decreased again; During the observation periods the time spent on behavior B,C,S,and N were not significantly different between the two cubs (P > 0.05). The mother's activity level,number of nursing sessions,and time spent on behavior N fluctuated daily during the observation periods. As the cubs grew stronger and more active,the distance they traveled away from the nest increased. This distance differered between the two cubs. The mother spent more time interacting with Longbin than with Qiubin. There was no difference between the 2 cubs in the amount of time spent playing by themselves. The amount of time the cubs spend playing with each other plus the time by themselves was greater than time spent with the mother. This research helped gain a new perspective on the giant pandas maternal behavior and also on the nursing and raising behavior of giant panda twin cubs.

Key words: Behavior, Giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca), Rearing, Twins