Why this Kelowna professor is listening to baby panda noises

To say that Dr. Christina Buesching has an intimate knowledge of how panda babies sound would not be an overstatement: she’s listened to over 5,000 noises they’ve made.

It’s all part of the UBCO Okanagan Adjunct Professor’s efforts to further boost the survival chances of a species that was once seriously endangered. She studies how animals communicate with each other.

“Panda’s are fantastic animals,” Buesching, who works with the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, told Kelowna10. “They’re very cute to watch and at the same time they are biologically incredibly interesting.”

She’s collaborated with a group of Chinese co-authors to study how newborn panda cubs acoustically connect with their mother. The extremely vulnerable and tiny babies are only one-900th the size of the mother; measuring around 18 centimetres and weighing just 100 grams.

It’s important work because in the wild, pandas often give birth to twins but typically only one survives. Life and death seems to depend on the cubs’ ability to make the right noises for nourishment and care.

Twin cubs born in captivity are swapped over every 24 hours so the mother is caring for only one at a time.

Lower vocals give life over death

Buesching’s work involved observing the mother when audio recordings of the cubs’ multi-frequency squawks, squalls and croaks were played back to her.

The research suggests the babies’ ultra frequency high-pitched squalls can be heard by the mother but not by predators, and that’s a good thing. However, it’s the lower frequency, deeper squalls and squawks that get more attention from the mother.

“The fundamental frequency of a call… is in part, also determined by the body size; the simple distance between the larynx to the end of the vocal cord,” Buesching explained. “Therefore, only bigger cubs can actually produce physiological deeper calls. And therefore, it seems a cub is telling it’s mother: ‘I am big, I have long vocal cords, please look after me. I am big and strong and growing really fast, much better than my twin which still calls at a much higher [frequency] voice.'"

However, Buesching explained this puts the panda mother between a rock and a hard place because while the lower frequency noises travel further and can help her find her baby if it ever goes astray, predators can also locate it more easily than if the cub was making the much higher frequency sounds.

Why pandas are worth it

She said more study is needed to see if her research can be put to use in the wild, and thinks the panda, often serving as China’s national symbol, is very much worth all the effort. Extensive conservation measures show the bear is recovering in numbers.

She notes while it’s a highly intelligent animal and an umbrella species connected to wider habitat conservation, the panda is also one of those flagship species that people find endearing just by looking at them.

“Then people realize our natural environment is worth conserving… and the panda is a real success story,” Buesching said. “Therefore, hopefully the panda can help people to get more interested in conservation and doing their bit.”

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