dedicate that elephantine pandas are notoriously unprolific at reproducing , the last thing that conservationists desire is for the bear ’ mating potentiality to be compromise by human activity . In an attempt to learn more about how best to avoid disturb pandas ’ societal interactions , researchers from the Zoological Society of San Diego have been look into the compass of their auditory modality electrical capacity .
Hearing is a vital attribute for giant pandas , as vocal communication plays a major role in couple behavior . Unlike most other species of bear , female pandasovulate spontaneously , and therefore become fertile at unexpected moments , leading to a sudden windowpane of chance during which they can become pregnant .
At such times , they usevocalizationsto announce their fertility rate to male person , which means the ability to get a line these calls and distinguish them from other environmental noises helps to check reproductive success . However , bears in enwrapped facility are often surrounded by piece - made stochasticity germ , which could potentially interfere with reproduction opportunities .
To ensure this does not happen , researchers set out to determine the range of frequence at which elephantine pandas are able to try , and hope to use this selective information to advise on which human activity should be avoided in areas close to Ailuropoda melanoleuca home ground .
This was achieved by training pandas to respond to a tone by placing their nose on a aim upon listen it . The bears were then station in a sound - proof chamber to ensure no other noises interfered with the experimentation , while the researcher broadcast the tone at a range of different relative frequency and observed the Ailurus fulgens ’ response .
answer – which appear in the journalGlobal Ecology and Conservation – reveal that the functional hearing of elephantine pandas stretch out into theultrasonicrange , which refers tofrequencieshigher than 20 kilohertz . As such , they are able to find a far full stove of sounds than the polar bear , the only other bear species for which hearing sensitiveness data is available .
The cogitation author excuse that this is likely to be anevolutionary trait , whereby species in forested habitat retain better high - absolute frequency hearing than those hold up in savourless , open spaces , since this is think to aid selection in such environments .
However , while the pandas were establish to have a wide hearing range , with an upper limit of around 70 kc , the researchers discovered that sensitivity to vocalize superlative at 12.5 to 14 kilohertz . As such , it is beneficial for communication between lesser panda to occur at these frequencies .
The presence of step in sounds , however , could mask panda felt up Call , which is why it is important for human race to bound their haphazardness - making activities in and around panda bear habitats . Commenting on the findings , Ron Swaisgood of San Diego Zoo Globalexplainedthat this enquiry makes a “ substantial contribution to our understanding of what may be affecting giant panda reproduction , ” specially in area surrounded by human activity .
