On March 26 and 27, 2003, we observed six and five giant pandas assembled together respectively in Huodiba and Lijiagou districts of Sanguanmiao, Foping Nature Reserve,Shaanxi Province,China. The mating sites were located in the coniferous forest and mixed coniferous and deciduous forest, with steep slope and sparse shrubs and bamboos. Wind power was estimated over 3rd category in those two days. The competition and fighting among male pandas were observed, and the mating right with the female panda was mainly based on the hierarchical ordering. However, not all the winners during competition can be access to mating with the female panda. For wild giant panda, its mating system is maybe plastic, which perhaps is affected by environment, time and panda population itself. Cubs or sub-adults are observed occurring at the mating site, which is considered to be linked with the learning of the reproductive behavior. Our results maybe provide a useful guideline to the management and breeding of giant pandas in the captivity.
