On Tuesday, scientists doing research on captive breeding of the endangered bamboo-eating bears said that pandas are quite probable to mate successfully and produce cubs when they show through a complex series of behaviors that is first choice for a prospective mate.

During captive breeding experiments when huge pandas showed no such preference, despite being considered genetically fit as a pair, their probability of mating successfully fell to zero.

The conservation biologist Meghan Martin-Wintle of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, said, “Incorporating mate choice into conservation breeding programs could make a huge difference for the success of many endangered species breeding programs, increasing cost-effectiveness and overall success”.

Over 40 pandas at a conservation and research center in Sichuan province in China were part of the study. They were placed in huge open-air enclosures where in they may choose between 2 potential mates.

There was nearly 80% chance of cub production when both a male and a female showed a preference for each other. In case, one of the two had a reference for the other, there was roughly 50%probability that they would produce a cub. When none of them showed a preference for one another than the chance of cub production was nil.

The interest in potential mates was showed by pandas via behaviors like vocalizations known as ‘chirps’ and ‘bleats’, and ‘scent-marking’ by rubbing glands against an object or surface. Females showcase their angiogenital part to males, placing their tails in the air and moved in the back direction towards males. The interest is shown by males via performing a handstand against a vertical surface. They performed it and urinated.