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Although they feed almost exclusively on bamboo, the nutrients that giant pandas consume and absorb most closely resemble those of carnivores, revealed a joint Sino-Australian study on Friday.
The study from the University of Sydney (UoS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) showed that 50% of pandas' energy intake comes from protein, a similar figure to that of wolves and wild cats.
To achieve their results, researchers used an approach called nutritional geometry, which takes into account how nutrients and dietary components mix, rather than focusing solely on an isolated nutrient.
"This study demonstrates how important it is to consider foods and nutrients to understand the evolutionary ecology of animals, which nutritional geometry is designed to respond to," said Professor David Raubenheimer, of the University of Ottawa. 39, University of UoS.
The findings help show how giant pandas have evolved from their carnivorous ancestors to bamboo-eating vegans of today.
"This may also explain why pandas have a strange mix of herbivorous and carnivorous traits," said Raubenheimer.
Over time, giant pandas have developed a skull, jaw and teeth, perfectly suited for chewing fibrous plant material, as well as a "pseudo-thumb" with which to hold the stems while they eat.
However, their digestive tract, digestive enzymes and intestinal microbes resemble those of carnivores and not herbivores.
"According to what they eat, giant pandas belong absolutely to herbivores, but considering the macronutrient composition of diets ingested and absorbed, they could also belong to carnivores," said the co-author , Fuwen Wei of CAS.
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