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Since pandas produce twins “roughly half the time” and “the mother routinely selects one, and the other dies in a few days,” it seems that there is an opportunity to rear the discarded one experimentally (away from the mother). Has this been tried? It seems a waste to let one of the twins perish. Rhodes Hileman
Seattle, Wash. Excellent point. That’s exactly the strategy that Chinese researchers are using. One of their experimental protocols has been to have the twins take turns snuggling up to Mom while researchers baby-sit the other sibling in the nursery.–S. Milius The story states that “Unlike dogs, though, panda males also do some of their scent-marking upside down.” I would have to disagree. Small dogs, such as terriers also do “handstand” scent marking. I saw this done by my own Norfolk terrier when he was about 4 months old and very feisty. Norman Laurin
Cambridge, Mass.