A Glimpse into the Secret Life of Giant Pandas

Giant pandas are most recognized by their black-and-white coat and voracious appetite for Chinese bamboo, however, these animals largely remain a mystery. But new research is giving an unprecedented glimpse into the secret life of these pandas.

Using rare GPS collars, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have been tracking five pandas in the wild, and recently published their surprising findings (PDF) in the Journal of Mammalogy.

"Pandas are such an elusive species and it's very hard to observe them in wild, so we haven't had a good picture of where they are from one day to the next," Vanessa Hull, a research associate at MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS), said in a statement.

"This was a great opportunity to get a peek into the panda's secretive society that has been closed off to us in the past," added co-author Jindong Zhang.

The five pandas they studied included three female adults named Pan Pan, Mei Mei and Zhong Zhong, a young female Long Long and a male dubbed Chuan Chuan. They were captured, collared and tracked from 2010-2012 in the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwest China.

Until recently, for protective reasons, the Chinese government had banned the use of GPS tracking collars on giant pandas for more than a decade. So this study is a breakthrough in that it can now use this technology to give a unique glimpse into their day-to-day habits.