Seasonal energy utilization in bamboo by the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)

Seasonal energy intake and digestion of bamboo by red pandas were measured in energy balance trials at the field station at an altitude of 3,100 m in Yele Natural Reserve, Mianning County of Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China. Two-week trials were conducted at monthly intervals by feeding animals with only natural bamboo browse, Bashania spanostachya, from May to November 1995. Results demonstrated that energy intake, digestible energy, and digestibility differed significantly among seasons and diets. Energy digestibilities were high in summer-autumn, intermediate in spring, and low in winter. These variations correlated positively with the nutrient contents of bamboo. The daily metabolic energy requirement measured varied from 2,603.3 kJ in the spring to 3,139.8 kJ in the summer-autumn to 2,740.8 kJ in the winter. The results also showed that shoots were more easily digested than leaves and exhibited the highest digestibility. Restricted by the capacity of digestive tracts, red pandas poorly utilized the energy provided by bamboo as indicated by the lower energy digestibility (averaging 26.47% for leaves and 44.08% for shoots among the seasons). To fulfill their daily energy requirements, red pandas ingested a large amount of energy from bamboo leaves, which varied from 10,145.8 kJ in the spring, 12,045.1 kJ in the summer-autumn, and 12,276.9 kJ in the winter to maximize the rate of energy intake. Zoo Biol 19:27–33, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.