Scientists at the Wolong Panda Research Centre in Sichuan Province, central China, have said they now understand 13 different sounds pandas make, The People’s Daily Online reports.
“Mum you are crushing me, please hold me in another position, so I feel better.” is just one of the phrases they have decoded when a panda baby makes the sound “wah-wah.” Experts from the centre at Wolong have spent the last five years studying their sounds, and “wah-wah” is just one of them.
They also found that baby pandas are similar to human babies when it comes to basic needs. There are two other unique sounds that panda babies make, “gee-gee” and “cuckoo”. “Gee-gee” means “I am hungry, feed me” and “cuckoo” is the sound they make when they are satisfied.
In the research centre at Wolong, scientists said understanding panda sounds will help them understand more about their psychological and living habits. The centre’s director, Zhang Hemin, introduced the experiment in 2010. “Through the recordings and spectrum(光谱) analysis, we have decoded some of the panda’s language. We understand them at feeding, nursing babies, and emotions from different situations,” said Zhang. Pandas in the growth process are very similar to humans; they like to be with their mother. They slowly learn roaring, barking, screaming and other intense sounds.A “bark” means you shouldn’t get close to them because they are angry and may start a fight.
The study of panda language will continue at the research centre in Wolong Nature Reserve, central China’s Sichuan Province. There is still a long way to go as the scientists want to get a better understanding of the exact meaning of the panda sounds.
The Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre was established in 1980. It is currently the world's largest panda protection and artificial breeding institution. The survival rate of the center’s newborn pandas is at an all time high. It now protects more than 200 giant pandas.
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