Reproductive System
Giant pandas exhibit a peculiar evolutionary adaptation known as delayed implantation. A fertilized giant panda egg does not immediately implant on the mother’s uterine wall, but instead "floats" around in her reproductive tract for varying lengths of time. As a result, we do not know precisely the length of the giant panda’s actual gestation period. All we can say is that the time from mating to birth ranges from 95 to 160 days. Pandas have many of the same reproductive organs as humans, including ovaries, testes, etc.
Female giant pandas conceive only during their two to three day estrous period in the spring. That period is the only time female pandas show interest in mating. Males, however, mate for a longer period of time in order to optimize the amount of females they can inseminate. Pregnant mothers normally prefer caves as a shelter to give birth in. Most pandas give birth in the Fall. A newborn panda is very vulnerable. They are born with their eyes closed, and have weak, slim bodies. The panda mother will almost always have the baby in her arms, warming it with her body, licking it until it can warm itself.
Their poor, low-energy bamboo diet prevents giant pandas from devoting much energy to gestation or lactation. As a result, giant pandas are the smallest newborn of any nonmarsupial mammal and they grow very slowly. Giant panda infants weigh just four to six ounces at birth and young are a year old before they reach 75 pounds, which is about one-third of adult weight.
Female giant pandas conceive only during their two to three day estrous period in the spring. That period is the only time female pandas show interest in mating. Males, however, mate for a longer period of time in order to optimize the amount of females they can inseminate. Pregnant mothers normally prefer caves as a shelter to give birth in. Most pandas give birth in the Fall. A newborn panda is very vulnerable. They are born with their eyes closed, and have weak, slim bodies. The panda mother will almost always have the baby in her arms, warming it with her body, licking it until it can warm itself.
Their poor, low-energy bamboo diet prevents giant pandas from devoting much energy to gestation or lactation. As a result, giant pandas are the smallest newborn of any nonmarsupial mammal and they grow very slowly. Giant panda infants weigh just four to six ounces at birth and young are a year old before they reach 75 pounds, which is about one-third of adult weight.