Despite their size of it and alone appearance , giant cat bear still manage to dodge the scientists trying to study them in the wild . Now researcher have come up with an ingenious way of supervise pandas , onefootprintat a sentence .
unhappily these bamboo - munching adorable animals are in worry . They are currently lean asvulnerable to extinction , and onlyabout 1,860exist in the wild . know how many pandas there are , and whereabouts they ’re most populous is central to protecting them and discontinue their number from fall further . But they ’re rather tricky to espy .
" Giant pandas live in outside and arduous - to - achieve areas and their universe denseness is so low that actual sightings of cat bear themselves are not common , ” explain study leader Binbin Li , assistant professor of environmental sciences at Duke Kushan University , in astatement . “ What we do see a lot of are footmark and faecal droppings . "
But analyzing the DNA in fecal muck is expensive , and rely on sweet samples and access to sophisticated scientific equipment . Meanwhile , reckon a Ailuropoda melanoleuca ’s bite - size from bamboo sherd in its feces is n’t very efficacious .
However , just like our fingerprints , a lesser panda ’s feet are unique to their possessor , make footprints a useful putz for identifying private animals and working out universe size of it .
" Each species has a unique characteristic foot social organization and the panda , in fussy , has a beautifully complex foot that makes it a perfect candidate for monitor with FIT , " said study author Zoe Jewell .
FITstands for Footprint Identification Technique . It is an interactive software program putz that can “ read ” and analyze digital images of footprint . The pictures are submitted to a global database so that they can be matched with pre - existing data . The software system can also order the sex of the footmark ’s owner .
burst has so far been used to help census a numeral of endangered species and is presently being used to monitorpolar bearsin Canada ’s Nunavut Territory , Amur tigersin Russia , and the teeny tinyHazel dormouseof the UK , among others .
The simpleness of FIT signify that anyone can get involved in the monitoring of angry creature , just by taking photos of footprint and put in them toConservation FIT , which was launched sooner this year by wildlife - tracking organizationWildTrack .
In full term of giant pandas , the researchers think the new technique could also be useful for monitoring pandas that have been secrete into the wild from captivity . Their finding are published inBiological Conservation .
" elephantine pandas are hard to reckon – they are diffident and survive in remote mess . Yet we must know how many there are if we are to prevent their extinction , ” said Stuart L. Pimm , Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University ’s Nicholas School . “ The step proficiency is a major find in our ability to count them . ”
