Nutrient and energy requirements of red panda (Ailurus fulgens) during lactation

The red panda's nutrient and energy requirements during lactation phase were measured by feeding animals only with their natural bamboo foods, Bashania spanostachya, at the field observation station at an altitude 3100 meters in Yele Natural Reserve, Mianning county of Sichuan province, China. Two-week long trials were conducted at monthly intervals during the lactation period from July to August 1995. Results indicated lactating and non-lactating pandas had significantly different utilization for bamboo leaves. Although dry matter intake of the lactating panda was similar to that of non-lactating animals, dry matter digested and digestibility were significantly higher than those of non-lactating animals. Digestibilities of crude protein and crude fat by the lactating animal were also higher than those of non-lactating animals. Increased digestive efficiency of the lactating panda may relate to extensive mastication of bamboo leaves. Although energy intake of the lactating panda was similar to that of non-lactating animals, energy loss through faeces was much lower than that of the latter, and energy digested (4561.75 kJ) was significantly higher than that by non-lactating pandas (3300.20 kJ). The former's digestible energy was 1.4 times as much as the latter's. Furthermore, energy digestibility of the former (38.45 %) was also statistically higher than that of the latter (27.18 %).