One study found that magical pandas have been found to stink with horse manure in the wild, and the sweet smell of scattering is not the only reason – it seems that manure helps them tolerate lower temperatures, according to research.
Unlike insects, which form a major part of feces, digging for olfactory signals to find food, the attraction of excretion is rare in mammals. But researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have observed that a huge panda subspecies in the Qingling Mountains of China find a new crown for a horse and then turn it over.
The researchers set up infrared cameras in the forest between July 2016 and June 2017 and captured 38 instances of this rolling behavior, mostly when the ambient temperature was less than 15C (59F).
This behavior also appeared to be associated with droppings less than 10 days old. When scientists compared fresh manure with old manure, they found that fresh manure is rich in two compounds: beta-caryophyllin and caryophyllin oxide.
Scientists wondered if the two compounds were trapped in the thermal sensations of some mammals because of the apparent relationship between the temperature, so they conducted another experiment. They treated one group of mice with both compounds and the other group with alkaline, which was found to be better in combination-treated mice with cold temperatures.
The researchers then discovered that at the molecular level both compounds interact with the thermosensitive pathway in the panda, preventing cold activation, they said in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr Claudia Washer, a behavioral ecologist at Anglia Ruskin University, who was not involved in the study, said: I haven’t heard of panda rolling in horse manure, but I’m familiar with other breeds roaming in the feces of other species, such as dogs. I wouldn’t be surprised if more species show similar behavior.
“This reminds me a little bit about self-medication in some species: for example, primates are known for self-medication, so eat certain types of plants when you feel sick.”
D in. Simon Girling, chief veterinarian at the Edinburgh Zoo, which has only two giant pandas in the UK, said the research was so sensible that most research papers focused largely on olfactory and pheromones.
“We have always understood that alfalfa is a very important understanding for this particular species.” “When people say that the genome of this is divided, that and the other – what’s the matter? Well, here is a very interesting example, it starts to unravel the understanding about the biology of this particular species and how it can be adapted. “
Will the two pandas of Edinburgh – Tian Tian and Yang Guang – be given fresh horse manure to anoint themselves in the winter? “It’s definitely a possibility,” Girling said.
He warned that horse feces could carry salmonella bacteria. “But perhaps if it were possible to separate these compounds safely, it could be something used as a breeding tool.”
