Giant pandas Use a ‘Facebook’-like Social Network to Communicate
Researchers have found that giant pandas, traditionally believed to be solitary and antisocial creatures, actually engage in a surprisingly active social life, resembling the way individuals share updates on Facebook. This discovery provides a new perspective on the social behavior of these elusive bears.
However, in a study conducted in China’s Wolong Nature Reserve, researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) shifted their focus to trees, where giant pandas leave scent signals for communication. The findings revealed a surprisingly complex form of communication, akin to social media. Lead author Thomas Connor noted that pandas exchange information through scent-marking behavior, with trees acting as “scent trees” serving as a form of social media.
Panda ‘Social Media’ for Broadcasting Information
Ken Frank, a professor at MSU, likened it to Facebook, describing it as asynchronous, allowing pandas to broadcast information about territory, sex, age, breeding status, personality, and physical size.
In fact, the researchers, expanding on previous MSU work tracking panda movements from 2010 to 2012, validated their social media theory by analyzing panda feces to unravel communication networks. With pandas producing feces frequently, the team collected and tested it across a significant area, establishing timelines for tree-marking.
DNA extracted from the feces identified individual pandas and their relations. The social network analysis revealed associations between pandas, resembling cliques in high school, with strong norms. However, Panda communication through marked trees provides information on encounters, sex, dominance, size, and mating readiness. This allows individuals to glean crucial details without direct physical interaction.
Interestingly, the researchers found that panda behavior varied throughout the year. While the animals usually communicated with close family members, during breeding season, there was increased communication with new connections.
From Family Bonds to Breeding Strategies
The researchers suggest that this is to mark territory, utilizing the trees as a map, and to discourage inbreeding and reduce the energy-intensive competition for mates. Effective communication becomes crucial during the short annual window for successful breeding, especially for a species that generally prefers solitude.
To conclude, senior author Jianguo Liu from MSU remarked, “The discoveries in this study shed new light on how pandas use their habitat. Pandas are part of coupled human and natural systems where humans share their habitat. Anything we can learn about how they live and what they need can ultimately help inform good conservation policies and maybe understand our own behavior a little more.”
Read the original article on: New Atlas
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