Effect of a Flavor Agent on Bamboo Leaves Ingested by Captive Juvenile Giant Pandas
In order to explore the flavor mechanism of selective ingestion by captive juvenile giant pandas(Ailuropoda melanoleuca),a special flavor agent was independently studied and developed for captive juvenile giant pandas,according to the ingestive behavior characteristics,familiar food aroma and favorite food taste of captive juvenile giant pandas.Through the olfactory and gustatory evaluations by professionals,the flavor agent could improve the main odors and tastes of bamboo leaves.From June 2022 to March 2023,the bamboo leaves of Chimonobambusa purpurea,Pleioblastus macu-latus,Chimonobambusa utilis and Ch.szechuanensis were fed to seven about 1.5-year-old captive giant panda cubs(three males and four females),six about 2.5-year-old(two males and four females)and six about 4.0-year-old subadult captive giant pandas(three males and three females).Only the test group's bamboo leaves were sprayed with the flavor agent,but not the control group.During each morning and mid-day feeding time,the feeding test was carried out for 30 minutes,and the placement of two different groups of bamboo leaves were swoppted.The sequences ingested the test group's bam-boo leaves and control group's bamboo leaves,maximum continuous ingesting time,total ingesting time,the number of in-gested bamboo branches and bamboo leaf intakes were quantified through free choice ingestion tests of the captive juvenile giant pandas and video replays of their ingestion processes.The results showed that:(1)The flavor agent could signifi-cantly increase the proportion of first ingestion times of the 1.5-year-old giant panda cubs.(2)The flavor agent could signifi-cantly increase the maximum of continuous ingesting time of the 1.5-year-old and 2.5-year-old juvenile giant pandas,and the averaged increase rate was 339.32%and 102.59%,respectively.(3)The flavor agent could significantly increase total ingesting time of bamboo leaves by 1.5-year-old and 2.5-year-old tested juvenile giant pandas,and the averaged increase rate was 310.45%and 129.91%,respectively.(4)The flavor agent significantly increased the bamboo branch number in-gested by 1.5-year-old,2.5-year-old and 4.0-year-old tested juvenile giant pandas,and the averaged increase rate was 186.20%,80.87%and 103.12%,respectively.(5)The flavor agent also significantly increased the bamboo leaf intake by 1.5-year-old,2.5-year-old and 4.0-year-old tested juvenile giant pandas,and the averaged increase intake rate was 154.21%,118.02%and 109.77%,respectively.Therefore,the special flavor agent could strengthen bamboo leaf inges-tion inductivity by captive juvenile giant pandas and had significant effects on increasing bamboo leaf intake.
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