Yun Zi, grandson of Dong Dong
We have received news from various sources that Bai Yun’s mother Dong Dong passed away last week. Dong Dong has a bit of a special place in the lives of our San Diego Zoo bears in that she was the grandmother of all panda cubs born here. In honor of her passing, I thought I might share a few anecdotes about her with you.
The San Diego Zoo sent me to Wolong, China, in 2000 to study maternal care in giant pandas. Although I had worked with pandas Bai Yun and Shi Shi for a few years in San Diego, Wolong provided a great opportunity to see individual variation in both behavioral and physiological traits among a large group of pandas. Observing Bai Yun’s parents was a real education in variation.
When I first met Pan Pan, Bai Yun’s father, I was struck by the similarities between them. Pan Pan was big, with long limbs and a characteristic bump on the bridge of his nose we have learned to associate with his lineage. He was bold and confident. Bai Yun seemed to be cut from the same cloth as Pan Pan.
And then I met Dong Dong. I was a little taken aback that she could be the mother of our big, bold Bai Yun. Dong Dong was small, low to the ground, and with a belly that swayed down. She seemed timid and reclusive. When she first saw me, she huffed quietly and retreated back to her bedroom. In the three months I lived at the Wolong facility, I rarely saw her out of her bedroom area. Clearly, Bai Yun most closely resembled her father, in both size and spirit.
Before that trip to Wolong, I was assisting in a trial study of scent presentations in San Diego, utilizing Bai Yun and Shi Shi. We would present them with a small wooden board, painted with urine collected from bears in Wolong. Ultimately, the purpose of the study was to see what kind of information the bears could extract from the urine scent. Bai Yun could always be counted on to interact with the board for a moment or two, at least giving it a good sniff before moving on to finding her breakfast.
One day, I presented Bai Yun with a board and was surprised by her response. She sniffed and licked the board, then picked it up and sniffed it again, intensely. She continued to hold the board for some time, sniffing and licking and even performing a flehmen to bring the scent into her vomeronasal organ. Then she started anointing herself with the board, rubbing it over her ears and neck vigorously. In all, she probably spent more than 10 minutes with that board. I couldn’t see why her reaction to this scent might have been so strong, so I looked back at the urine vial I had poured the scent from: it was labeled “Dong Dong.” Years after leaving Wolong, and long after she had been weaned, Bai Yun seemed to recognize the odor of her mother.
Dong Dong lived to become a fairly old bear, probably close to 30 years of age. We don’t know for certain, because she was wild caught as an adult. She lived the last few years of her life in the same facility that had housed Shi Shi, the male who had been Bai Yun’s neighbor in San Diego. Those old bears are gone, but not forgotten, as their lineages live on in the many cubs produced by Bai Yun and Hua Mei, daughter of Shi Shi and Bai Yun, over the years. And if we have the pleasure of watching another newborn panda cradled in Bai Yun’s arms this August, we will be witnessing the strong bond between mother and cub that Dong Dong forged with Bai Yun so long ago.
Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, You Can Help Sun Bears.
We’ve posted a video of Yun Zi titled Baby Panda Grows Up. It’s for our San Diego Zoo Kids section, but we thought our panda fans would enjoy watching it too!
Thank you so much for keeping us informed about all SDZ pandas, whether here in San Diego or in China. How many babies has Hua Mei had? Last I saw was 7.
With Dong Dong living so long, there is a good chance of having our Bai Yun much longer.
Again, thank you so much for keeping us so informed.
Thank you Suzanne for sharing your memories of Dong Dong. And for sharing the story of Bai Yun’s reaction when presented with her mother’s scent. That story from the first time that I heard you tell it, brings tears to my eyes as it does prove that there is a strong bond between panda mothers and their cubs. And it endears Bai to me even more.
The comparison between Dong Dong and Pan Pan is very interesting. I had never heard these things about them. Bai is very much then her father’s daughter in looks and in spriit. But it must’ve been the time with her mother that she learned to be the panda mother that she became, and the passing of that loving maternal instinct to her daughters will be Dong Dong’s legacy.
Here’s hoping that we get another cubbie for Bai to love!!
very touching, brought tears to my eyes. RIP Dong Dong, you’ve left quite a wonderful numbered children and grand children, she will live forever in her offspring
Thank you Suzanne for this blog. If you hadn’t told us Dong Dong’s name with her description, I would have guessed that she was related to Gao Gao. He is small and, to me anyways, seems very reserved. I guess I will just say – laid back.
Scent memory is amazing. We humans have it too. About a month ago I bought a spice that I had never heard of before and when I took the first smell it brought back a memory from about 50 years ago. I asked my mother about it and she said that yes, she used to use it in the late 50′s but could never find it again after that. Brains store so much more than we give them credit for.
Thank you, Suzanne, for a lovely personal glimpse of Bai Yun’s parents, especially mother Dong Dong. We are all grateful for the strong maternal instincts she gave to her daughter that are now being passed down the line to Bai Yun’s daughters. You brought “mist” to my eyes in reading about Bai’s reaction to her mother’s scent so many years later. I know in my heart that Bai Yun’s children have that same loving memory of her, regardless of the years or miles between them.
Thanks for a wonderful blog Suzanne. Reading about Bai and the scene brought tears to my eyes. Dong Dong will live on forever in her offpring in their kids…and their kids…
This is why you should leave the bears together. She obviously missed her Mom! You may find, once there are more Pandas in the world that they are NOT as solitary as you might think! Once the need to fight for food in the wild is gone, they probably will live in family groups. Look at the Atlanta bears! They all get along. Yang Yang used to hang out with Lun Lun AND the babies!
This post made me cry, it is so sad!
why aren’t they together, it makes me sad to think that Yun Zi will never see his Mom again!
Moderator: why do they have to be separated?
Moderator’s note: It is hard when we look at the separation from a human point of view. At the San Diego Zoo, we try to mimic how pandas live in the wild; they are solitary animals by nature. Please don’t worry about Yun Zi, as he is active, growing, and appears to be another healthy panda, and that’s exactly what we strive for!
Thank you for the update, I have often wondered about Pan Pan and Dong Dong. And when an old panda goes to that great bamboo forest in the sky, I like to tell myself that when they were taken in by Wolong or Chengdu, they won the ‘panda lottery’–they would always have access to food, veterinary care, a safe home, free of dangers, and eventually, a peaceful retirement. And dear Dong Dong was with us long enough to be a great-grandmother through Hua Mei, your ‘little’ wonderchild you worked so hard just get onto the planet. Was she not deemed a ‘heroic’ mother after the birth of her seventh baby? It’s so good to see these excellent maternal skills passed down through the generations. Does anyone know how many living cubs Dong Dong has that are with us? I know Pan Pan had many wives with whom to produce those one-hundred-plus offspring. And again, I have high hopes and lots of confidence in Su Lin and even young Yuan Yuan, mate of Hua Mei’s boy Tuan Tuan–they might just be parents this year, too…
Thanks Suzanne, this memorial to Dong Dong is as informative as it is touching. Dong Dong is held dearly in my heart. First for the special panda she was in her own right and for giving us the gift we call Bai Yun.
Thank you Suzanne for sharing your memories of Dong Dong with us and for reaffirming the very special role she played in Bai Yun’s life. Dong Dong is well represented among the pandas living in captivity, actually she was the only female cited among the pandas overrepresented among the captive pandas… I remember the story of Bai Yun’s reaction to Dong Dong’s scent, I thought it was so sweet… http://blogarchives.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2006/03/27/panda-perfume/
Has the bump on the bridge of the nose appeared on any of SDZ’s grandcubs?
Does Bai have it?
Thank you Suzanne for sharing your fond memories of Dong Dong. Your description of Bai Yun’s interaction with the sample of Dong Dong’s scent was very moving. There’s no doubt that Bai recognized her mother’s scent.
The comparison of Dong Dong and Pan Pan’s size and temperament was very informative. When I look at their grandchildren here at our Zoo, I’m now more aware of those distinct traits.
Once again, thank you so very much for this tribute to a very special panda.
Thanks for sharing the story about Bai Yun–I remember someone mentioning that she had been very interested in the board with her mother’s scent, but I didn’t know that her interest extended to anointing and lasted for 10 minutes!
Scent memories are very powerful in humans–as Proust wrote about in Swann’s Way–and with pandas’ extra powerful scent abilities, it isn’t surprising that they seem to also have powerful scent memories.
To reply to one of Kathryn’s questions.
Dong Dong gave birth to 9 cubs, 5 are still alive.
It is hard to know for sure how many descendants Dong Dong has, as often paternity is not always determined, but from what I know:
Dong Dong had 32 grandkids born, 24 are still alive.
Dong Dong had 36 great grandkids born, 33 are still alive.
Dong Dong had 2 great-great grandkids born and both are still alive.
Actually, if I am not mistaken, 9 of the cubs born at Bifengxia in 2010 are descendants of Dong Dong…
Thank you! Nice of you to get back to me with that. Nice also to know that Hua Mei’s 8 cubs count amongst those 33 great-grandkids. Here’s to an ever-expanding panda family tree!
Hi Suzanne, Thank you so much for your article and great sharing about Dong Dong. It’s a pleasure to read about the SD Zoo’s Panda family and their lineage from homeland China. Bai Yun really is our Superstar, and here’s hoping for a perfect pregnancy and panda birth in August 2011!
how many children does hua mei have and is she pregnant ?
Moderator’s note: Hua Mei has had 8 offspring.
No, Hua Mei is not pregnant; she is allowed to stay with her male cub, Yang Hu, born on September 17, 2010, until he is 18 month old.
Hua Mei had twins in 2004, 2005 and 2007, and a single cub in 2009 and 2010.
Hua Mei is one of the panda mom’s who has been picked to keep her baby (born in 2010) for a full 18 months.
Thank you Suzanne about your article on Bai Yun’s mom Dong Dong and her dad Pan Pan. When Bai sniffed the board she remembered the scent of her mom Dong Dong. It just goes to show that animals never really forget. Thanks to Dong Dong, Bai is a wonderful mother to her cubs and hopefully we will be having another little one for Bai to love and for us panda fans to watch.
Bless you, sweet Dong Dong. Thank you for giving us beautiful Bai.
RIP Dong Dong…..You will always be remembered through your lineage.
I know you say they live solitary lives in the wild, but I don’t believe they want to be by themselves all the time. I wish Yun Zi and Bai could see each other a couple times a month. I’m sure they would recognize one another.
Wonderful information about Dong Dong — thanks, Suzanne! Also, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the video about Yun Zi growing up. It will be a great remembrance of him once he goes home to China.
Moderator: Bai Yun is on Camera 17 in a kind of enclosed area that I’ve never seen before? What is that area? She looks so adorable sitting there munching her boo.
Moderator’s note: Glad you enjoyed the video! Cam 17 show Bai’s sunroom, and Cam 15 shows her garden room.
Sun room and garden room? She is so spoiled.
Moderator’s note: She’s worth it!
Wow, that is something about the bond between mother and cub/child when Bai Yun recognized Dong Dong’s scent….truly remarkable to say the least. God bless all the pandas in the world….and may they prosper and be in health as their souls prosper…Thanks for the information, Suzanne!
Farewell for now, Dong Dong! See you again in Heaven!
Thank you so much for this touching blog, it’s wonderful to know that Bai still remembered the warmth and care Dong Dong gave her. I don’t think it matters what species you are, no one forgets a loving parent..it’s one of those special bonds that if you’re lucky to have you carry with you forever. Dong Dong has certainly given us alot to be thankful for and I imagine her spirit is once again roaming the misty mountains.
Love the new video of Yun Zi, what a wonderful young bear he has become! New camera in Bai’s back area? It’s wonderful to see her so clearly back there!
Suzanne – thank you for your article commemorating Dong Dong.
I was privileged to have visited both Shi Shi and Dong Dong in 2007. I was on my way to Wolong for my first volunteer trip. I arranged to fly through Guangzhou and stay a couple of days there to visit Shi Shi in Guangzhou Zoo.
Before I left on the trip, an online panda friend told me there is a panda by the name of Dong Dong living in Panyu (also called Changlong) Safari World on the outskirts of Guangzhou, but she was not sure if it is Bai Yun’s mother. Based on that piece of information, I booked a driver after arriving in Guangzhou to take me to see Shi Shi at Guangzhou Zoo the next morning, and then to Panyu Safari World in search of this Dong Dong.
I was rewarded for my visit to Panyu Safari World. One of the interpreters there confirmed that their Dong Dong is Bai Yun’s mother. There was also an info chart hanging near her enclosure that gave her bio.
I wrote up about my visit to Dong Dong here:
www [dot] chetscorner [dot] com/chatter/2007/10/among-pandas-dong-dong-at-panyu-safari-world/
Dong Dong and Shi Shi both lived out their last years near each other, but they were never in the same facility. Shi Shi was the only giant panda at Guangzhou Zoo until the last year of his life when a second panda, Long Sheng, was brought to the Zoo. Dong Dong was living in Panyu Safari World on the outskirts of Guangzhou.
At the time of her death, Dong Dong had one of her great grandchildren living in the same facility near her – Hao Hao, Hua Mei’s 2009 cub.
Thank you so much Chet for sharing your memories about Dong Dong and Shi Shi, both beloved pandas.
Chet, actually Dong Dong had two of her great granddaughters living near her at the Panyu Safari World. Besides Hao Hao, Ting Ting, Hua Mei’s first daughter born in 2005, has been calling Panyu home since June 26, 2008.
Suzanne, thank you for this wonderful memorial to the great panda mother, Dong Dong. She certainly has contributed in a very significant way to the current captive panda population. And from the information that Danielle, NY generously provided, we can be assured that Dong Dong’s lineage and her gift to the future of giant pandas will be around for years to come.
I want to thank all of you at SDZ for your tremendous dedication to the cause of ensuring that the world will enjoy the magic of giant pandas for generations to come. Let’s hope that this year, we will yet again enjoy the pitter-patter of little panda paws.
Thanks for the tribute to Bai Yun’s mommy Dong Dong.
Does anyone know what caused her to pass away? Was it just “old age?”
The scent mark enrichment with Dong Dong’s scent put a lump in my throat. How sweet Bai Yun “remembered” her dear mom.
RIP dear Dong Dong. Thank you for all you have contributed to your species. You are a hero mom at her best. We will never forget you Dong Dong!!!
WOW!!! Huge loss for the pandas! Condolences to all of the keepers at Wolong/Bifengxia in the loss of Dong Dong. Dong Dong along with Shi Shi have a very strong, long lived legacy at both Wolong and SDZ, and we all see that with the now grown and almost grown pandas that Bai Yun has raised all these years. Dong and Shi will be remembered for their contribution to the conservation of their panda cousins for years to come!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
Speaking of Dong Dong’s lineage:
Any news about whether Hua Mei and Su LIn are possibly pregnant? I know Su Lin entered the breeding program earlier this year.
What about Mei Sheng? Has Mei Sheng fathered any cubs to date? I was at BiFengXia in May 2009 when Mei Sheng was housed in the breeding center. I was told he had a successful mating but never heard if he’s a father….
His first “wife” was Ying Ying, a more experienced older female.
No, Hua Mei is not pregnant; she is allowed to stay with her male cub, Yang Hu, born on September 17, 2010, until he is 18 month old.
After reading that bai yun resemble her daddy, I really wonder how pan pan look like. Anyone has photos of him?
Such a sweet tribute to Dong Dong and family. SDZ is more than just a place to visit. The global atmosphere of “family” is so apparent in whatever the panda topic is for the week. Nice place to call home for everyone-whether near or far away…
Looking through my photo set of Hao Hao (BY’s grandkid), she does not appear to have a bump on the bridge of her nose.
The Photo I have seen of Hao Hao seems to be a “Formal” one, perhaps they do a little touchup of photos??? Pan Pan’s bump may have been the result of injury rather than inherited—-He seems to have had a great many ladies to keep happy, and apart….perhaps he got between 2 of them?????
Thank you Suzanne for the wonderful tribute to Bai Yun’s mother. Maybe Dong Dongs timid way is why Bai and Gao Gao get along so well, as Gao is layedback too!
I also wish the siblings could visit with each other now and then.
Bless you Dong Dong, you will always be loved here on earth.
It might be intereasting to try the experiment with the Dong Dong scent—again—when Bai is not pregnant or raising a cub. How about it NannyKeepers, Staff, Vets Etc…any chance of that?????