Bamboo cultivation and management

John Updike, Bamboo Specialist (San Diego Zoo)

Bamboo is one of the most intriguing and beautiful family members in the diverse kingdom of plants. Inhabitants of nearly a third of the world use bamboo on a daily basis. Giant Pandas in the wild and in captivity rely on bamboo as a primary food source.

The San Diego Zoo's Botanical Bamboo Collection is comprised of over 59 species of sympodial (clumping) and monopodial (running) bamboos. This diverse mix of bamboos provides a varied diet for our gourmet Giant Pandas. We cultivate 14 species on Zoo grounds and at the Wild Animal Park to provide a daily supply for our adult pandas. Our mild climate is favorable to bamboo growth and provides us the opportunity to grow subtropical as well as temperate bamboo species.

A primary goal of the bamboo browse program is to provide a sustainable yield of bamboo to meet the nutritional needs of our pandas. Currently we maintain about 3 acres of bamboo, which provides about 10.5 tons of bamboo a year. We also desire to grow several different species to provide feeding choices to the pandas. Over the last three years we have learned which bamboo species are favored by our pandas at different times of the year. For example, consumption of different species varies prior to and after mating season. Warm weather also seems to have an influence on bamboo consumption.

The pandas' diet is comprised of bamboo, vegetables, and a specialized foliovore biscuit. Our pandas have definite bamboo favorites, while many species are eaten regularly throughout the year. Phyllostachys aurea is one of the most desired species, while Bambusa oldhamii is utilized on a regular basis. Each panda adult is presented 35 to 45 pounds of fresh bamboo daily. Each species of bamboo is weighed prior to feeding, and remnants are weighed after feeding. Fecal weights are also recorded to enable us to know exact bamboo intake.

Four different bamboo species are usually presented over the course of a day. Bamboo is usually cut on a daily basis when readily available. Other species that require greater travel time to access are cut in bulk to provide a supply for a period of two to three days. Bamboo is washed down with a hose and placed in a large plastic container half filled with water. An irrigation mist system is located directly over head to rehydrate the leaves on a regular basis. A special protocol has been developed regarding the cleaning and sanitizing of the bamboo containers. The pandas' eating habits are closely monitored so we can determine which species they prefer at different seasons of the year; these preferred species will then make up the lions share of the pandas' diet.

The following species list represents bamboos currently cultivated to meet the nutritional needs of the pandas:

Bambusa beechyana
Bambusa oldhamii
Bambusa textilis
Bambusa tuldoides
Bambusa ventricosa
Bambusa vulgaris "Vittata"
Bambusa glaucescens "Fernleaf"
Bambusa glaucescens "Alphonse Karr"
Fargesia fungosa
Phyllostachys aurea
Phyllostachys aureosulcata
Phyllostachys bambusoides
Phyllostachys nigra
Phyllostachys vivax
Phyllostachys bissetti