Diet conversion experiment
Five six-month-old captive giant pandas from the Shenshuping Base of
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) that
were only receiving milk in their diets were chosen for the diet
conversion experiment. Three experimental groups were established in
these individuals at different developmental times: OMD (only milk as
their diet), MBD (milk and bamboo diet), and OBD (only bamboo as their
diet). Giant pandas that only received milk as their diet received
700-800 mL of milk per feeding, and their corresponding feces were
collected at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 months of age. Bamboo was subsequently
introduced to the their daily diets with different weights based on age
for 8 (3.0 kg of bamboo and
1
L of milk), 9 (3.0 kg bamboo and 1 L milk), 10 (5.0 kg bamboo and 1 L
milk), 11 (5.0 kg bamboo and 1 L milk), 12 (8.0 kg bamboo and 1 L milk),
and 13 (8.0 kg bamboo and 1 L milk) month old pandas. Subsequently, only
bamboo was fed to these individuals with 15 kg of bamboo fed every day
and feces collected at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 months of age. The
milk nutritional details are shown in Supplementary Table S1.