Body Odor was obtained by rubbing the bears with a wooden block previously obtained for the experiment. The blocks were 10x13x1.5 centimeters and were made of pinewood. The blocks themselves smelled of pinewood and were sometimes preferred by the bears due to the scent that resembled their own natural habitat.

Urine was collected from each animal's enclosure. The urine collected fresh in to 20 ml plastic bottles and kept frozen until needed for an experiment.

For statistical reasons, each test was performed several times. Results of an experiment must be duplicated several times before conclusions are drawn. Due to time constraints I chose to perform each experiment only three times. I believed that since this experiment was to give me only preliminary data, three tests should indicate if there is merit for a more extensive study.

Three wooden blocks were presented to the animal tested at each experiment.  One was marked C for Control, which indicated that this block was not treated with any odor except its natural odor of fine wood. The other two blocks were R and S. R indicated the block that was marked with the scent of the Relative of the bear tested (son, daughter, mother) and S stood for Stranger, the scent of an unrelated bear. All three blocks were placed before the animal tested at the same time. At this point I observed the reaction of the bear to the different blocks. 

When working with animals, one must remember that animals have a mind of their own. The fact that the scientist is ready for the test does not mean that the animal agrees with and will cooperate. As shown in Video 1 and Video 2, Ye Ye, a female Panda, had little interest in the wooden blocks placed in her enclosure. On the other hand, as shown in Video 3, Xin Yue, a female cub, was mostly actively participating in the experiment, rubbing the scent on her body, smelling it, licking it, and chewing the block to pieces. Video 4 portrays another female cub, Ying Hua, that is also actively reacting to the wooden blocks.

The results from this study have not been analyzed yet. Previous research on the use of olfactory senses to identify individuals has been done by Dr. Ron Swaisgood and has pointed out the ability of the Pandas to use chemicals to recognize same sex individuals as well as members of the opposite sex. Scent is used to sense if a Panda is of the same sex (males perceive other males as competitors and females can be identified for their sexual readiness). Whether the Pandas are able to recognize that a specific individual is related to them based on their body odor, urine or AGS is yet to be determined.

For more information contact: Orie Gilad: ogilad@mail.bio.tamu.edu

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