Females, on the other hand, do not include reliable information about their body size in their bleats, but they do "tell" their age, while males do not. "It's not that females don't mind revealing their age," Charlton said. "They don't have a choice. Information on female age is likely to be present in bleats due to age-related changes in vocal production anatomy." He and his colleagues further explained that older females "are more likely to be experienced breeders," so males likely seek them out and "avoid pursuing those that are too young to breed." He doesn't think females would need to know the age of other adult females, but males may benefit by knowing each other's sizes, which "could help them avoid risky encounters with larger rivals." One giant panda without such concerns at present is the 3.9-pound male cub recently born at the San Diego Zoo. "He vocalized a little today," Geoff Pyle, the zoo's senior veterinarian, said Thursday evening. "It was nothing dramatic. He was just letting us know he was aware of what we were doing." Mother Bai Yun and the rare cub are being shielded from potentially risky public view at present, but may be observed via the zoo's live Panda Cam. In the future, Charlton hopes studies will be conducted on the vocal communication of giant pandas, with findings that may also apply to other bear species. Related Links: |
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