Cameras capture urinating courtship ritual of giant panda

Three infrared cameras have captured the striking courtship behavior of pandas in Wolong National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Several clips show an adult panda walking to a tree and smelling it for a moment. The panda then pushes its hind legs up against the tree, and urinates on the tree trunk in a upside-down position, according to staff with the reserve's Mujiangping protection station.

The station has not been able to identify if it is the same panda in each clip, or its gender.

"Giant pandas usually claim their territory and shows a willingness to seek a partner by urinating on a tree trunk, or scratching and tearing tree bark. The behavior becomes more frequent in mating season, which falls in April and May," said Shi Xiaogang, head of the protection station.

The three cameras were installed in December in Laoya mountainous area, around 2,200 meters above sea level. Over the past months, they have captured six clips of pandas urinating while doing a handstand.

Pandas are generally solitary animals, and live in well-defined territories, usually about 3-7 square kilometers.

Covering an area of over 20 square kilometers, Laoya mountain is a densely populated habitat, with some 10 wild pandas.