Food Habits of the Red Panda, Ailurus Fulgens in the Singhalila National Park, Darjeeling, India

7 Pages·2001·4 MB·

by  Sunita Pradhan

) J
FOOD HABITS OF THE RED PANDA, AILURUSFULGENSIN
THE SINGHALILANATIONAL PARK, DARJEELING, INDIA'
SunitaPradhan, GautomK. Saha2andJamalA. Khan3
(With one text-figure
Key words: Red panda, Ailurusfulgens diet, eastern Himalaya, temperate
,
zone, subalpine zone
Food habits ofthe red panda in the Singhalila National Park (SNP) were investigated at
three sites from 1994 to 1996, by examining 1,250 droppings or faeces. Red panda was
found to consume two species of bamboo, Arundinaria mating and A. aristata, which
dominated the understorey ofSNP, along with seasonal supplements ofsome fruits and
shoots of the above mentioned bamboo species. However, the composition of the diet
differed between the sites. The difference in their dietary composition in relation to the
overall ecology ofthe red panda in the SNP needs further investigation.
Introduction gestation period, low fecundity and slow
postnatalgrowth, whichplace constraints onthe
The red panda belongs to the Order rapid propagation of its population (McNab
Carnivora, but interestingly subsists on a 1989). Moreover, the bamboo mass flowers
herbivorousdiet, specificallyonbambooleaves. periodically,anddiesaftertheseedsareproduced
Althoughthemodificationsofdentitionandskull (Janzen 1976). The panda faces scarcity offood
structures have typicalherbivorous features, the during the flowering stage ofthe bamboo. This
digestive system is ill-adapted for proper paper presents preliminary findings on the food
utilization of its low nutrient diet of bamboo and feeding habits ofredpanda studied during a
(Roberts and Gittleman 1984, Bleijenberg and research project (1993-1996) in the Singhalila
Nijboer 1989). The gut is short and simple, National Park (SNP), Darjeeling, eastern
typicalofthecarnivores, anddevoidofcellulose Himalaya, India.
digestingmicrobes(RobertsandGittleman 1984,
Schaller et at. 1985). As a result, the red panda Study area
consumes alarge amountofbambooto fulfill its The SNP (87° 59'-88° 53' E; 26° 31'-27°
energy requirement (Oftedal et at. 1989). The 31' N) ranges from2,400 to 3,600 m above msl,
redpandahasevolvedaphysiologicaladaptation
encompassing the temperate zone and subalpine
oflowering the metabolic rate to cope with low zones.ThemoisttemperateclimateofSNPvaries
nutrient diet, reducing energy expenditure for withaltitude.Theobservedsummertemperature
maintenance and reproduction (McNab 1989).
ranged from 7 to 17 °C, and winter temperature
This evolutionary strategy results in a long
dropped as low as 1 °C in the temperate zone.
Average summer and winter temperature in the
'AcceptedJuly,2000
2P.G.DepartmentofZoology, subalpineregionwere7°Cand 1 °Crespectively.
DaijeelingGovernmentCollege, Mean annual rainfall was 350 cm and average
Darjeeling734101,WestBengal,India, humidity ranged from 83% to 96%.
departmentofWildlifeSciences,
Theintensivestudyareacomprisedofthree
AligarhMuslimUniversity,
Aligarh202002,UttarPradesh,India. sites (Fig. 1). Sites 1 and 2 represented the
224 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG. 200
FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA,AILURUSFULGENS
BataseA
KaiyakattaA^
Gairibons
= 1
-MR ROAO A
*METALLED ROAD PhatakA Tumling
-unmetalled ROAD
-“BRIDLE PATHS
“INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY
-STATE BOUNDARY
-•••-BOUNDARY BETWEEN CORE AND BUFFER ZONE
A SETTLEMENTS
’ s
Fig. 1: SinghalilaNational Park, Darjeeling, India.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG.2001 225
FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA,AILURUSFULGENS
temperate zone, and Site 3 the subalpine zone. investigated for the three—study sites within two
Trees such as Quercus spp. dominated the broad vegetation zones the temperate and
temperate zone, Arundinaria maling being subalpine zones separately. The difference in
dominant in the understorey. In the higher intake oftwo bamboo species was tested using
reachesofthetemperatezone, Quercusspp.were Mann-Whitney U test following Fowler and
scarce, and the vegetation was dominated by Cohen (1986).
Sorbus Acer and Vitex. The understorey was Nutritional analysis: Leaves of both
,
composed of both Arundinaria maling and species ofbamboo, ofall age classes (1 year, 2
A. aristata. The subalpine zone hadaprominent year, and>2 years), were collectedevery month
association oftrees such as Abies densa Betula for a year. Fruits ofActinidia strigosa, Sorbus
,
utilis and Rhododendron spp., with an microphylla and Rosa spp., and shoots ofboth
understorey ofA. aristata. bamboo species were collected during their
seasonofemergence. Alltheplantsampleswere
Methods dried to a constant weight at 55 °C and ground
inWilley’smillpriortoanalysis. Hemicellulose,
Red panda food habits and nutritional cellulose and lignin were determined following
status of food plants were investigated by the Goering and Van Soest (1970), using Fibertech
following methods: System. Crudeproteinwasdeterminedfollowing
Phenology ofthe food plants: Inorderto Allen (1989).
investigate the availability of cover and food
resources inthe study area, phenologicalstudies Results
were undertaken (Pradhan 1999). The fruiting
seasonality ofthe food plants is presented here. A total of 1,250 pellets were examined. It
Phenology and recruitment rates of the two was found that the red panda in the SNP
bamboo species were studied in sixty 1 sq. m consumed both the species of bamboo. The
plots, thirty each for the two species. Initially, differencebetweentheintakeoftheleavesofthe
m
all the bamboo culms in the 1 sq. plots were two species was, however, not statistically
countedandmonitoredmonthly.Whentheshoots significant (Mann-Whitney; z = 0.24, df = 12,
appeared, they were counted and labelled. After p=0.813).Alongwiththebamboo leaves, some
that, all the labelled shoots were monitored to seasonal fruitsandshootsofthebamboo species
assess their survival and death. were also consumedby the red panda.
Faecal analysis: Red panda pellets were Availabilityanddistributionoffood:The
collected monthly, broken and macroscopically bamboo species A. maling locally known as
examined. While the leaves ofthe two bamboo maling had an average heig,ht of 4.9 ±0.80 m
species couldbe identified macroscopically, the and a diameter of 1.5 ±0.73 cm. The average
shoots ofboth the species were not identifiable. number ofnodes was 22 with an average sheath
The fruits andberries consumedwere identified length of22 cm. A. aristata locally known as
,
from the seed remains, undigested skin of the ratonigalo was shorter, with an average height
fruitsandevensheaths,whichsurviveddigestion. of3.9 ±0.053 m. The average number ofnodes
Each food item was expressed by its frequency was 22; average sheath length 12.81 cm.
ofoccurrence andbypercentvolume, computed A. aristata had a higher density of culms than
foreachseasonfromtheentire studyarea. Thus, A. maling.
the diet spectrum of red panda was also A. maling was the dominant bamboo
226 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG. 2001
)
FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA,AILURUSFULGENS
m m
between 2,600 to 3,100 in the study area. Seasonalvariationindiet: Thedietofthe
A. aristatawas foundfrom2,850m,butactually redpandainSNPvariedseasonally(Table 1). In
m
dominated the understorey from 3,150 to pre-monsoon, itsdietwas acombinationof52%
3,600 m. Shoots ofA. molingappearedannually A. aristataand48%A. malingleavesbyvolume.
between early June and October, whereas the In the monsoon, it fed on A. aristata and
shoots ofA. aristata emerged from late June to A. maling leaves, bamboo shoots and traces of
October. The recruitment rate of bamboo an unidentified fruit. In post-monsoon, food
(A. maling and A. aristata was low, with an variety increased with the availability of fruit
average of 1.92 /sq. m, out ofwhich only 0.98 / resources in the forest. Red panda was found to
sq. m remained intact. Of the bamboo shoots consume A. aristata leaves (45%), A. maling
monitored, 48% were eatenby insects and other leaves (35%), fruits ofActinidia strigosa (13%)
animals,and9.8%werebrokenaccidentally.The bamboo shoots (6%), Sorbus microphylla and
bambooshootscollectedbythelocalswas 10.96 Rosa sericera in trace amounts. The winter diet
kg/family. consisted of A. aristata leaves (53%) and
In the temperate zone, the fleshy fruit of A. maling (47%).
Actinidiastrigosa a creeper was found to be an The overall intake of A. aristata varied
,
important component of the red panda’s from 34.86% to 53% (x = 45.97%), while
post-monsoon diet. A. strigosa was found A. maling varied from 36.18% to 48.16% (x =
between 2,800 m and 3,100 minthe study area. 41.97 %), andtherest(x= 11.82%) consistedof
A. strigosa started fruiting from September, fruits and bamboo shoots. No evidence oflarge
matured around October, and the fruits lasted scale camivory was found in the faecal pellets,
till November. The fruits ofA. strigosa had a except fora fewbird feathers.
thin skin and were sweet when ripe, they were Feeding ecology in the three study sites:
muchsoughtafterbythe localsto addflavourto Thedietshowedseasonaldifferencesinproportions
their liquor. An estimated amount of ofdifferentfooditemsconsumedatthethreestudy
approximately 3.75 kg/family was collected by sites(Table2).AtSite 1, itcomprisedofA. maling
the locals during its fruiting season. Sorbus leaves (100%) in the premonsoon and winter
microphylla started fruiting from June to July seasons.Inthemonsoon,itfedonA. malingleaves
m
and was found from 3,200 to 3,600 m. Rosa (61%),bambooshoots(38%)andunidentifiedfruit
sericera ashrub indisturbedareas, fruitedfrom (1.1%). Thepost-monsoon dietwas composed of
,
JunetoNovember. A. maling leaves (70%), A. strigosa fmits (20%)
Table1
INCIDENCEOFFOODITEMSIDENTIFIEDIN ,250REDPANDADROPPINGSBYNUMBEROFDROPPINGS
AND%VOLUME(INBRAC1KETS)INSINGHAL1LANATIONALPARK
Pre-monsoon Monsoon Post-monsoon Winter
Fooditems (Mar-May) (June-Aug) (Sept-Nov) (Dec-Feb)
Arundinariamaling 295 (48.16) 98 (36.18) 120 (34.57) 85 (47.0)
Arundinariaaristata 385 (51.84) 80 (34.86) 105 (44.70) 112 (53.0)
Bambooshoots 0 (0) 53 (28.58) 22 (6.23) 0 (0)
Actinidiastrigosa 0 (0) 0 (0) 27 (13.33) 0 (0)
Sorbusmicrophylla 0 (0) 0 (0) 0.6 (0) 0 (0)
Rosasericera 0 (0) 0 (0) 1.0 (trace) 0 (0)
Unidentifiedfruit 0 (0) 0 (0) 10 (trace) 0" (0)
Totalnumberofdroppings 632 188 235 195
Trace=lessthan 1.00%
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG.2001 227
FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA AILURUSFULGENS
,
Table2
SEASONALINCIDENCEOFFOODITEMSINREDPANDADROPPINGSBYNUMBEROFDROPPINGSAND
%VOLUME(INBRACKETS)FROMTHREESTUDYSITESINSINGHALILANATIONALPARK
Site1 Site2 Site3
Fooditems PR MN PM W PR MN PM W PR MN PM W
Arundinariamaling 122 68 90 52 156 42 35 33 0 0 0 0
(100) (60.6) (70) (100) (45.5) (38.8) (33.8) (41) (0) (0) (0) (0)
Arundinariaaristata 0 0 0 0 111 38 24 35 270 42 85 77
(0) (0) (0) (0) (54.4) (46) (44) (59) (100) (74.6) (91) (100)
Bambooshoots 0 30 8 0 0 24 9 0 0 10 7 0
(0) (38.3) 00) (0) (0) (15.3) (2.2) (0) (0) (25.3) (6.7) (0)
Actinidiastrigosa 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0
(0) (0) (20) (0) (0) (0) (20) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0)
Sorbusmicrophylla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
(0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) G-73) (0)
Rosasericera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
(0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (trace) (0)
Unidentifiedfruit 1 8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
(trace) (1.1) (trace) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0)
Totaldroppings 122 68 97 52 240 79 53 65 270 42 85 77
TPrRa=cePr=el-emsosntshoaonn1,.M0N0=%Monsoon,PM=Post-monsoon,W=Winter
%
andbamboo shoots (10%). was 15.1 and A. aristata leaves was 14.2%.
AtSite2, redpandawasfoundconsuming Fruits of A. strigosa seem to be nutritionally
A. aristata (54%) andA. maling(46%) leaves in richer, with high and crude protein, and low
premonsoon, and about the same proportion of cellulose and lignin content, as compared to
thesameleavesinwinter. Tnemonsoondietwas S. microphylla and R. sericera (Table 3).
composedofA. aristataleaves(46%),A. maling
leaves (39%) and bamboo shoots (15%), while Discussion
the postmonsoon diet was A. aristata (44%),
A. maling (34%) leaves, A. strigosa (20%) and Macroscopic examination of faeces, as
bamboo shoots (2%). doneinthisstudy,hasalsobeenusedsuccessfully
At Site 3, the diet consisted entirely of by Reid et al. (1991), and Yonzon and Hunter
A. aristata leaves (100%) during premonsoon (1991) in describing the red panda’s diet. Red
and winter. In the monsoon, the pellets were panda consumed both the species of bamboo
found to have A. aristata leaves (75%) and presentintheSNP,whichformedthechieffood,
bamboo shoots (25%). Postmonsoon samples of Table3
Site 3 consisted of A. aristata leaves (91%), PROTEIN,HEMICELLULOSE,CELLULOSEAND
bamboo shoots (6.7%), S. microphylla (1.73%) TLHIRGENEINFRCUOINTTSEENATTE(%NDBRYYTMHAETRTEEDRP)AONFDA
and R. sericera in trace amounts of0.57%. INSINGHALILANATIONALPARK
Nutritive value of the food plants:
Fruit Crude Hemicellulose Cellulose+lignin
A. maling leaves were found to have higher Protein
cellulose and lignin content (40.12% ofthe dry Actinidiastrigosa 10.63 8.00 20.59
matter) than A. aristata (31.83%). The crude Sorbusmicrophylla 4.38 2.54 41.00
Rosasericera 8.88 1.95 28.01
protein and lignin content ofA. maling leaves
228 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG. 2001
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FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA,AILURUSFULGENS
especially during the premonsoon and winter However, the pandas in Jiuzhaigou (China) and
periods. Seasonal fruits such as A. strigosa and elsewhere subsisted entirely on the Fargesia sp.
S. microphylla,andbambooshootssupplemented which was regarded an adequate food (Schaller
the diet ofbamboo leaves during the monsoon etal 1985).
and the postmonsoon period. The monsoon and Thetopographyofthestudyareawassuch
postmonsoon coincided with the period ofbirth thatthetwo species ofbamboowerenotequally
and rearing ofthe young ofred panda. Earlier abundant in any of the three sites. A. maling
studiesspecifyleavesandshootsofSinamndinaria dominated Site 1. At Site 2, both A. maling and
fangiana, andshoots ofFargesiaspathececi tobe A. aristata were found. A. aristata dominated
taken in the Wolong Nature Reserve (China), Site 3. From the results of Site 1 and Site 3, it
(Schalleretcil. 1985, Johnson etal. 1988, Reid et could be tentatively said that the red panda was
al. 1991) and a species ofbamboo locallyknown consuming the species of bamboo most easily
asjhapra in the Langtang National Park, Nepal available. Investigation of the food quality of
(Yonzon and Hunter 1991). Fruits and berries of plants ascertained that A. aristata leaves had
Sorbus spp., Maddenia hypoleuca Cotoneaster higher levels of protein, less of cellulose and
,
moupinensis Clematoclethera tiliaceae Rubus lignin as compared to A. maling. However, not
, ,
mesogaeus R.pdeatus Ribesmoupinense Pninus muchcouldbeinferredaboutthefoodpreference
, , ,
vaniotti and P. brachyoda and even mushrooms on the basis of nutrient content, as A. maling
are reported to be taken by the red panda in the andA. aristataleavesweretakeninalmostequal
wild(Johnsonetal. 1988,Reidetal. 1991,Yonzon quantity at Site 2. Moreover, A. maling and
and Hunter 1991). A. aristataleavesseemedanadequatedietatSite
Feeding ecology in the three study sites 1 and Site 3 respectively.
ofSNP: The amount ofA. aristata leaves taken Fruits ofA. strigosa formed an important
by the redpanda in the SNP was slightly higher supplementtotheredpandadiet.However,more
than A. maling, although the difference is not can be said of the selection of fruits only by
statisticallysignificant. Itwasnotpossibletosay comparingthepreferenceandavoidanceofother
how particular they were about selecting the fruits found within a site rather than between
bamboo species. Red panda was found to be sites. Forexample,withinSite 1 andSite2, other
consuming mainly A. maling leaves in Site 1, fruits, whichtheredpandamayhaveconsumed,
the dominant species in the area, as A. aristata were Holbellia latifolia and Sorbus cuspidata.
was found only in patches above 2,850 m. At Butfaecalexaminations showedthatthese fruits
Site2,bothA. malingandA. aristataleaveswere were not taken, despite their abundance. The
consumedbecause ofthe increasing availability nutritional analysis of other fruits was beyond
ofA. aristata as compared to that in Site 1. At the scope ofthe present study.
Site3,thedietwassolelycomposedofA. aristata Bothspeciesofbamboohavebeenaffected
leaves,thedominantbamboospeciesofthearea. by intensive cattle grazing, and they were also
The giant panda selected Sinarundinaria foundtohavelowrecruitmentrate. Thebamboo
sp. over Fargesia sp. in the Choushuigou study shoots ofboth A. maling and A. aristata were
area in China, where both species were easily not only eaten by other wild animals, but also
accessible, perhaps due to the higher protein, harvested by the locals. All these factors could
other nutrients and less cellulose, lignin and haveaneffectontheirgrowthdynamicsandneed
better balance of essential amino acids in further studies. A. strigosa is also harvested by
Sinarundinaria sp. (Schaller et al. 1985). the locals in significant quantity.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 98(2), AUG.200 229
,
FOODHABITSOFTHEREDPANDA AILURUSFULGENS
Thisstudyfinallyrevealsthatthedietofthe West Bengal and implemented by the
red panda in the temperate zone consisted ofA. P.G. Department of Zoology, Darjeeling
malingandA. aristataleavesandshoots,andfruits Government College. We thank Dr. E. Sharma
ofA. strigosa, whereas in the subalpine zone, A. forfacilities to carry outthe nutritional analysis
aristata leaves, shoots and fruits of of the food plants at G.B. Pant Institute for
S. microphylla and R. sericera were consumed. HimalayanResearchandDevelopment, Sikkim
The difference in the dietary composition in Unit. Dr. Angela R. Glatston, Dr. Prahlad
relationto the overallecology oftheredpandain B. Yonzon, Mr. Miles Roberts, Dr. A.R.
the SinghalilaNational Park needs further study. Rahmani, Dr. M. Coulter, Dr. S. Javed, Dr. S.
Kumar, Sarala,Nakul,Iyatta,TehminaandRana
Acknowledgements for their help and support during the entire
tenure ofthis study. Comments ofthe referees
ThefieldstudywasfundedbytheWildlife have helped immensely to improve the
Circle, Department ofForests, Government of manuscript.
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