Pandas may have been unfairly maligned over their seemingly futile devotion to bamboo. Research has found that the animals switch between species of the plant to reproduce.
A six-year study has found that pandas migrate relatively long distances to eat different parts of two bamboo species — arrow bamboo and wood bamboo — to maintain a balanced diet and to get the nutrients they need to breed.
Researchers, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Sydney University, attached GPS collars to seven pandas in Foping Reserve in Shaanxi.
The study was able to confirm the theory that pandas move up from the valleys of the Qinling mountains to higher ground in spring, and back to lower ground in autumn.
When on higher ground, about 2,500m above sea level, the pandas can obtain vital protein from bamboo shoots. However, calcium-rich leaves are not in edible form at this height so the black and white mammals have to descend to lower ground to eat these leaves.
Pandas need calcium to help them reproduce — albeit that the animals are as notorious for their lack of breeding as they are for their fussy diets.
Researchers said the work shows that pandas’ culinary habits are a little more sophisticated than they have been given credit for, with bamboo often considered a poor nutritional choice.
“The concept of bamboo being a bad food for pandas is nonsense,” said David Raubenheimer, a professor at Sydney University, and study coauthor.
“Pandas have adapted to bamboo; it’s their food. When you look at it more closely you understand there are patterns of movement needed for diet and reproduction,” he said. “Yes, for many herbivores eating bamboo would be a challenge because the nutrients are very diluted, but pandas cope with this by eating large amounts of it. They live in a sea of the stuff and they can eat for 16 or 17 hours a day. They’ve got all the time in the world to sit there and eat it.”
“Because pandas have to trek 20 to 30 kilometers to different places for their food, we can’t think of these two habitats as optional extras to maintain,” he said. “Pandas need both habitats conserved. It may look like they have enough bamboo in one location, but they need the calcium, nitrogen and protein from different areas.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of