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Case Reports
. 2025 Apr 24:12:1552754.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1552754. eCollection 2025.

Case Report: A case study on the relationship between obesity and estrus in female captive panda

Qiang Zhou  1 , Bo Luo  1 , Bo Yang  1 , Desheng Li  1 , Rongping Wei  1 , Chunyu Xie  2 , Jinhua Yu  2 , Xiangqian Meng  3   4 , Jianbin Cheng  1 , Ming He  1 , Liu Yang  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Case Report: A case study on the relationship between obesity and estrus in female captive panda

Qiang Zhou et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

This study investigated a case of abnormal estrus in a captive adult female giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (X#, 130 kg) in 2024 to explore the possible relationship between overweight or obesity and estrus behavior in female giant pandas. Behavioral observations and urinary estrogen conjugate/creatinine (EC/CR) measurements revealed a significantly attenuated hormonal profile (peak EC/CR: 34.1 ng/mg vs. normal range 80-150 ng/mg) alongside muted receptivity (e.g., absent tail-lifting). Comparative analysis with historical cases of abnormal estrus (panda 2#: obesity-linked low EC/CR; panda 1#: normal EC/CR with behavioral anomalies) implicated obesity as a driver of reproductive impairment. And several actionable interventions were proposed: bamboo-based dietary reform, structured exercise protocols, and gut microbiota monitoring. This case underscores obesity as a modifiable risk factor in captive panda reproduction, urging integration of metabolic health into breeding management.

Keywords: abnormal estrus; giant panda; hormone levels; obesity; reproductive behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Daily urinary EC/CR levels of X# from March 30 to April 6, 2024. The horizontal coordinate indicates sampling days and times. Values on the dot represents the examined EC/CR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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