Tiergarten Schönbrunn GmbH, Vienna, Austria.
Wolong Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, Dujangyan City, PR China.
PLoS One. 2018 Nov 28;13(11):e0207433. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207433. eCollection 2018.
The giant pandas' (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) reproductive strategy is unique among mammals. Yet there are characteristics of giant panda behaviour we do not fully understand. Probably one of the least understood is the assumption that in captivity virtually all giant panda females rear only one cub when twins are born and abandon the other if given the chance. So far, only two females have raised twins simultaneously, but just with intensive human assistance. This case-study marks the first successful rearing of giant panda twins in captivity entirely by the mother. Using video data for detailed behavioural observations, we provide the first behavioural assessment of a giant panda female raising two cubs simultaneously without direct human assistance or disturbance. We compared the maternal behaviour during the denning period of twin cubs raised in 2016 with two singleton cubs born 2007 and 2010. YANG YANG, the dam, rested less and interacted more with the twins than with the singletons in the first month postpartum and invested a greater part of her daily time budget on rearing the twins. We discuss potential favourable factors for the autonomous twin-rearing of a female giant panda, which could serve as a model for similar efforts elsewhere.
大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）的繁殖策略在哺乳动物中是独一无二的。然而，大熊猫的一些行为特征我们并不完全了解。其中一个最不为人知的假设是，在圈养环境中，几乎所有的雌性大熊猫在双胞胎出生时只抚养一只幼仔，如果有机会，它们会放弃另一只幼仔。到目前为止，只有两只雌性大熊猫在人类的密切协助下成功地同时抚养了双胞胎。本案例研究标志着首例完全由母亲在圈养环境中成功抚养大熊猫双胞胎的案例。我们利用视频数据进行详细的行为观察，首次对一只没有直接受到人类干扰或帮助的雌性大熊猫同时抚养两只幼仔的行为进行了评估。我们比较了 2016 年育有双胞胎的雌性大熊猫在育幼期的行为与 2007 年和 2010 年育有单胎幼仔的行为。Yang Yang 这只大熊猫母亲在产后第一个月与双胞胎互动的次数多于与单胎幼仔互动的次数，休息的时间也更少，并且将更多的日常时间用于抚养双胞胎。我们讨论了雌性大熊猫自主抚养双胞胎的潜在有利因素，这可能为其他地方的类似努力提供了一个模式。
