Chinese scientists decode panda 'language'

Giant pandas speak a language too and scientists in China are trying analyse it

Scientists have reportedly worked out the meaning of 13 different giant panda vocalisations.

During a five-year study at a conservation centre in the south-western Sichuan province, researchers found that male pandas baa like a sheep when courting a mate, and females respond with a bird-like chirp or twitter if they're keen, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 "Trust me - our researchers were so confused when we began the project, they wondered if they were studying a panda, a bird, a dog, or a sheep," says Zhang Hemin, head of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda, which ran the study.

The report says, panda cubs make a "wow-wow" sound to indicate they're unhappy, and say "gee-gee" to alert their mother that they're hungry. Staff at the centre recorded the animals in a variety of scenarios, including when they were eating, fighting and nursing young, and then studied their voiceprints.

Mr Zhang says that understanding how pandas communicate will help conservationists to protect the endangered animals, particularly in the wild. The centre is even hoping to invent a "panda translator" using voice-recognition technology, Xinhua adds.

 Caption: Giant pandas eat bamboo at the China Conservation and Research Centre

Photo: BBC