Giant pandas are solitary animals. Being solitary does not mean that one’s social organization is any less complex or organized than that of a social creature. It simply means that individuals live by themselves as opposed to living in groups. They still get involved in relationships with neighbors, mates and rivals for mates. And even in solitary mammals, individuals are obliged to come into direct contact with each other at least twice in their lives. Males and females must meet to court and mate, and infants need to remain with their mothers for however short a period until they can cope on their own.