Habitat selection of the pre-released giant panda in Wolong Nature Reserve

A pre-released giant panda exhibited strong preference for areas with high densities of new bamboo shoots, while avoiding regions with dense adult or dead bamboo, higher culm heights, and increased canopy cover. The study, conducted in Wolong Nature Reserve, found that proximity to water sources and shelter significantly influenced habitat selection, suggesting successful predator avoidance learning during pre-release training. Logistic regression identified new bamboo shoot density as the primary predictor of habitat use. Notably, the panda's home range (9.21 hm²) was substantially smaller than those of wild pandas in the reserve, highlighting the need for enriched training environments to promote larger territorial behavior in future reintroduction efforts.

ZHANG Mingchun, 张明春, HUANG Yan, 黄炎, LI Desheng, 李德生, ZHANG Hemin, 张和民, ZHOU Shiqiang, 周世强, HUANG Jinyan, 黄金燕, LIU Dian, 刘巅, & ZHOU Xiaoping, 周小平. (2013). Habitat selection of the pre-released giant panda in Wolong Nature Reserve. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 33(19), 6014–6020. https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201306011268