Behavioural Responses of Captive Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) to Foraging-Based Feeding Devices: Within-Individual Changes and Individual Variation

Environmental enrichment is commonly used in captive animal management, but the behavioural effects of specific enrichment devices are not always evaluated systematically. We conducted two experiments to evaluate three foraging-based feeding devices used with adult male giant pandas during summer indoor housing. In a repeated-presentation experiment with four pandas, responses to the devices were strongly individual-specific: three pandas interacted most with Device B and one with Device A, and interaction duration declined across repeated presentations in a non-uniform manner. In a complementary exploratory single-case (A–B) comparison with two pandas, feeding devices were associated with a marked within-individual reduction in abnormal behaviour (90.2% and 75.1%; Cliff’s delta = −0.83 in both) and a shift in behavioural events from locomotion toward exploration. These findings support evaluating feeding enrichment at the individual level in captive giant panda management.