I LOVE training my keepers!
Training animals is one of my favorite things to do as a zookeeper. We get to spend extra time with them and get to enjoy the challenge of teaching the animals an action we want them to do. With most training at the Zoo, we try to keep the “cues” (the word and hand signal to tell the animal what to do) fairly the same for all of our carnivores. We use both a word cue and a hand signal when asking for a behavior in case there is a language barrier or an older animal is losing its hearing or sight. After a cue is presented, we use a “bridge” (the signal that a reward is coming). For the bridge we use the word “good” or a clicker.
Panda youngster Yun Zi has a long list of behaviors he knows or is currently learning. Many of them are easy ones, and a few are more complex. He knows:
Sit
Target (touch his nose to keeper’s fist)
Paws Down
Paws Up
Down (lay down)
Touch (to touch his paws and nails)
Open (mouth open)
Side (lay on his side)
Roll (roll over, both directions)
Inside (shifting into a bedroom)
Over (to move to the other side of a door)
Follow (following, while walking in the tunnel)
Out Out (to go onto exhibit)
He is working on the following cues:
Paw (put his paw through the blood-draw sleeve)
Hearing study (touching the red circle when he hears a tone played)
Most of these behaviors are standard for all three pandas here at the San Diego Zoo, with the exception of “Roll.” This is a great behavior to teach an animal so you can see his or her entire body, and this is a fun one for Yun Zi. The next time you visit Panda Trek, watch for when the keepers are done cleaning the exhibit, and you might catch a short training session with one of the bears.
Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Yun Zi Training.
thanks Jennifer, great post!
Sounds like a really fun aspect of your job.
He’s such a smart boy!
Clicker training is a wonderful way to teach behaviors. I would think that Bai is too much of a diva to learn “roll”! But she knows her “Pee” command! How is Gao on teaching behaviors… easy, more difficult??? Has anyone determined if either gender is easier to train than the other? I wonder if anyone has noted if one species is easier to teach than another, i.e. Golden Retrievers (Loves repetition) vs Rotties (and why do ya want me to do it again?) Great blog!
Great post, Jennifer – thanks! Also the picture you posted and the caption are hilarious!! Keep up the good work – all of you zoo keepers!
Yesterday afternoon Yuni kept rolllng around. I got a glimpse of a keeper in the enclosure in the back where Yuni was –a training season maybe
Yuni was having fun.
I do LOVE training my keepers to give me boo and treats and nice toys. I wish I can have a huge poster of Ms Panda Universe 2008 hung near my hammock. How can I train them to get me one? I must fink about it.
Lucilla
Being such a smart baby, I am sure you can do it..
Sorry to be the one to break the news to you Lucilla but the last time I saw Yun Zi he had a photo of Feng Feng or as he likes to call her Fengie.
Miss Panda Universe is in for a heart breaking experience.
I heard that you introduced Ms Feng Feng to him. I guess as a young lad he is not limiting his options just yet. And yes, he tells me Fengie is pretty and lovely young lady panna too.
But does he find her to be as great as Mama Bai Yun??? Mommas can be a hard act to follow~a Hero Mother even harder.
Where and how did he get a glimpse of the new love of his life????? Then the young lady wouldl have to surpass all of his nannykeepers, and his frequent visitors to th zoo. Rita Petita was only gone one day when he circulateld posters about a lost person with a camera for a head. I guess right now he is still a bit fickle~so keep on sending in the poster, photos, and visiting him at the zoo. Love
Grammmie
How rewarding it must be to see them learn. Is any one animal easier to teach or are they all about the same? Love the post and what yunnor has learned.
What a boy.
Thank you for great blog. lu Sacramento
I always knew Yunni was a genius! This post just proves it!
Wow! He knows a lot! smart panda
Your work is great and Yun Zi is super boy! Thank you!
‘Now ladies, to end we are going for our favourite to burn off those love handles,…with a one and a two, twist to right, hold five, hold, hold, now to the left, hold, hold…’ yells Hilda the Ostrich as she leads the exercise class.
Bai Yun was happily twisting left and right. She was next to some of her best friends, Mrs Lena Lion and Mrs Betty Otter. They had travelled from zoos all over to spend the week at ‘Mamas To Be’ Spa in Baja, California. Although Bai had no confirmation yet, she just wanted to treat herself and Gao Gao felt she should spoil herself. Not only was he footing the bill, he had sent a huge hamper with a bouquet of lovely roses. Bai grinned when she read the note which ended with SWALK from her normally taciturn hubby.
As she cooled down, Lena ambled over with Betty and suggested a dinner at the al fresco cafe. Lena and Betty had come from a zoo in Canada. Lena was just sharing about how her husband Larry was not coping with the cubbies at home. On SKYPE, he was yelling for help cos the cubbies were chewing his tail and pulling on his mane.
‘Oh my, I could hardly keep my laughter down but I did feel sorry for him. Most lions are not used to being treated this way. They dont call it a pride of lions for nothing.’
‘Hey, Betty, how do you build your dams? I saw some in China, they are way cool,’ asked Bai Yun as the trio headed to the showers.
‘Well, Bai, it is like you knowing how to make a den to have your baby, Mother Nature teaches us how and I also have had great teachers in my parents.’
When the 3 ladies had changed into their resort wear, they sat in an outdoor tent on rugs from Africa. The low table was filled with healthy tasty goodies for all animals. Bai’s eyes widened when she spotted a bowl of candied bamboo shoots as well as pasta with boo leaves in a pesto sauce. Lena was chomping down on nuggets and Betty found a tuna salad with walnuts.
Their tent was next to a natural rock pool. Some of the spa guests were frolicking there. Helene the Hippo was happily splashing Kate the Kangaroo while a young mum to be, Wendy Wolf was paddling along in the water.
‘I am so glad I decided to come here!’ declared Bai as the waitress replenished her glass of boo jiuce.
‘And it has turned out as promised. Last year, my cousin Lydia who is in a zoo in Mexico, decides to go to one of the new fangled spas and she starved. They told her it will help her lose her baby fat and she would get her pre-cubby figure!! I was horrified.’
‘Yeah, we are yummy mummies and we are proud of it. What’s with the trying to lose all the weight within days and weeks?’ adds Betty.
Bai thought about it and added, ‘It all this obsession with being skinny. In my culture, skinny is just not in. A nicely round panda is a healthy, cute and cuddly panda. But my youngest son was telling me that some of the girl pandas in the kindy are all talking about diets and calories. Nonsense. If I was their Mum, I will teach them right.’
‘Hey, shall we all go for a fur treatment after this? I read that the salon here uses a pack of 9 natural herbs and 12 fruits to create a mask for our fur,’ asks Betty.
‘Better make an appointment…’ suggests Lena.
‘Ahead of you girlfriend, I have already booked us for an appointment at 2,’ grins Betty.
‘And I have booked us for a Night Tour of the Bay where there is dinner and dancing,’ reveals Bai.
The ladies giggled and shared stories throughout lunch and then ambled off to their 2 pm appointment. As they entered the salon, Bai turns to her BFFs and asks, ‘Isn’t this divine? And we have 4 more days in Paradise…’ And with that the 3 settled onto the individual treatment beds and let out sighs of contentment.
Makes me envious. These gals live pretty well!
Me too, Anne in NYC!
Love to read anything about the pandas. Am planning my next trip to the SDZ in July and am getting so excited. It’s been too long–last trip was right after Christmas!
Moderator’s note: Be sure to look for our new jaguar cubs and Amur leopard youngsters!
Thanks for this update Jennifer. DoxieMom posted a video a couple of days ago of one of Yun Zi’s training sessions and I loved his roll overs and how he bounced up after doing them. He looked to be having so much fun.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandalover19/7154227987/in/set-72157629991174233
link to the DoxieMom video of a training session…. starring Yunnie.
Thanks as always DoxieMom!!
Thanks for the link – this is what I saw the other day
Oh my! When did the larger screen become available?? Thank you so much!
I haven’t peeked in on our beauties for a little while, and lo and behold,
up close and personal! This makes me want to watch again, all the more…
With the small screens, my eyes were getting a little tired squinting to see
our black and white furry family…
…oh, and, little Cloud, you are such the scholar, lookit you!
kisses
Kat, don’t miss the recent video of our Zhennie posted in the previous thread! She’s wonderful, and her new home looks really spacious and good.
(I remember that you are as much a ZZ fanatic as I am!)
I’m ROFLOL at the picture with the caption I love training my keepers. My dog has me trained well.
On Day 2 at the Mums To Be Spa, Bai Yun was reclining in the beauty salon having a facial. Next to her was Mandy the Mongoose and Olivia the Orang Utan.
Mandy was reading the latest popular bio ‘I survived 10 days in the jungles of SE Asia’ and she was giggling as the hooman writer was describing her home.
‘Hey, Liva, this guy calls you the Gentle Giant of Borneo!’ shares Mandy.
‘My species have been called so many things. We just want to survive and have our families live in freedom and without fear.’
‘Maybe one day, we animals can create a retirement home for ourselves together with those hoomans who love us. Imagine a string of retirement villages all round the world…’ muses Bai.
‘Hey it will be like Club Med for animals, hee hee hee,’ giggled Mandy.
At that moment, Betty and Lena entered. They had attended a pilates class and had come to pick up Bai to go for lunch. Bai was just having her final back rub and she was ready to go. Mandy and Olivia would join them later at the pool.
‘What are we having for lunch, ladies?’ asked Bai.
‘I had a look at all the different menus, today the specials at the Chinese cafe sound good, ‘ mentions Betty.
‘Oooooh, what do they have?’ asked Bai, for her Chinese food was her fave.
‘There is a yam ring with seasonal vegetables, sichuan peppers and meat, sweet potato leaves salad, fresh spring rolls with bamboo shoots…’ rattled off Lena.
‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go!’ gushed Bai Yun as she placed her paws round her BFFs’ shoulders.
The 3 ladies broke into song as they triapsed off to lunch, ‘O Happy Day….’
Oh the video of the training was cute. Does Yun Zi have cues for the keepers to leave him alone when sleeping? I could see him being like a teenager when you go to wake them for school. The grumble and the blanket over the head.
Thank you Jennifer. It sounds like you have a great “job” at SDZ!!
Are the SDZ pandas fussy about bamboo – ZA mentions frequently about how their pandas love a species of bamboo one minute then they refuse to eat it the next minute. I can’t imagine Gao turning any bamboo down
Panda Team: From our observations of the bears’ behavior, there absolutely are flavors and smells in the bamboo that the animals pick up on. Pandas are actually very choosy about their bamboo and will sort through the pile that they’re offered very methodically, sniffing and tasting as they go, to figure out whether they want to eat it or not. Sometimes as much as half of the offered bamboo will be rejected. We assume it’s because the pandas are looking for the most nutritious bits out there, and this is one of the ways such a large animal can survive on such a woody food source (the other way is that they eat a lot!). We’re still not sure exactly what sorts of tastes and smells they’re looking for, and it’s actually the subject of research at the moment (Are they picking up on bamboo with more sugars or fats? A more complete set of minerals?). Our senses are not as sensitive as the pandas’, so we can’t tell these differences ourselves, but there are a lot of ways that high nutritional value translates to smells and tastes that the bears use every day to choose their best diet possible.
Thank you for such an informative answer.
Besides bamboo and nutritional biscuits, what other foods are popular with the SD pandas? Does each bear have his/her favorite? I know that Zoo Atlanta pandas are given sweet potato and bananas and maybe apples? Are these given to your bears as well?
Moderator’s note: Apples are very popular with our pandas.
that is a great photo with the post. I’ve been trying to catch an image like that but when either of the boys yawns, I’m mesmerized by cuteness and then forget to shoot the photo.
Tonight was Bai Yun’s last night at the Mamas To Be spa. She felt so blissed out and so blessed. As she lay soaking in her bath tub, she mused on her life as she nursed her warm mug of cocoa.
I am so blessed to be living in California. The nannykeepers are so good to me and my family. We get good boo, treats and such fun enrichments. I love the wood shavings. Some people say I am a cubby at heart…hee hee hee.
My 5 lovely cubbies – they have turned out well, even if I do say so myself. Polite, kind, well adjusted…maybe that ZZ is more adventurous and zesty than the average panda girl but she’d make a great Mama when she is ready. And that Yunnie…he is going to break some hearts with his impish nature. He has Sheng’s good nature. Hmmm, maybe this year, Sheng will make me a grandmama. All the boys have inherited their Papa’s gentlemanliness. Hee Hee.
Gao Gao is a good papa and such a sweet husband. Pity my first marriage to Shi Shi didn’t work out. I was young and I did not know what to expect. And then this small dynamite came to live in SDZ and when our eyes met, my heart went ba-da-boom, ba-da-boom. And he is a good salsa dancer too.
Maybe next year, I will sugest to the Gaoster we take a trip to visit the China rellies. I have not seen the country of my birth for so long now but I still can feel the mists and the lovely forests in the mountains.
Soon her phone rang and it was Lena the Lioness to ask Bai to meet her and Betty at the bar for drinks at sunset.
Sig, tomorrow I will be driving back to SDZ….home. That word has such a nice ring to it. SDZ has been home to me and my family. And she dressed she decided on her new sarong wrap dress that Gao Gao bought her for this spa.
She twirled in front of the full length mirror. ‘I wish GG was here to see me wearing this.’
Then the door bell rang. ‘ROOM SERVICE, MA’AM!’ announced a waiter.
‘Oh, I didn’t order room service,’ she went to open the door.
On the trolley was perched a grinning Gao Gao.
‘Honey, I missed you so much so I thought I would come up earlier to see you, babe.’ He did not get to say more as she ran and hugged him. GG slipped a ten to the waiter and the waiter gave him a ‘You Da Man’ wink.
Needless to say, Bai ordered in room service that night and she sent her apologies to Lena and Betty. As BFFS, they totally understood.
The Gaoster could teach human husbnds a thing or two!
Sitting here at work laughing at the visual of Gao Gao sitting on the trolley….
Did I miss something this morning, why is Yun Zi so dirty ?? He’s so much fun to watch him.
sorry if this is a gross question but is Gao Gao’s tummy ok? maybe once a week I would notice (like today) that he has a lot of pieces of red poop nearby. I gather the red is from the leafeater biscuits but I don’t think I saw a pile of poop that large near Yun Zi or Bai Yun. they would usually not poop that close to where they slept however.
Moderator’s note: Your question has been forwarded to the Panda Team.
Thank you for your concern. Gao Gao is in full good health. We monitor each bear’s feces throughout the day. When you see red fecal, it s because of the folivore biscuits (red biscuits) that they consume. Gao Gao also is getting bamboo bread with folivore powder and bamboo flour. This causes his fecal to be brighter in color. We can tell what the pandas consumed by the color and consistency of their feces: yellow for bamboo culm, green for bamboo leaves, red for apples, biscuits, and bread.
Yun Zi the Black Bear.
Doxie Mom19 showed Yun Zi having a blast in the LOMAX.
Question for you: What is lomax made of?
Thank you.
is there pics or video of him playing ?
Here is the site where I saw Yun Zi the “black bear”.
Would like to know what lomax is?
http://www.flickr.com/photots/pandalover19/
Moderator’s note: Lomax is a commerical brand for a mulch tat had tantalizing scents (if you’re a bear!).
Moderator, thank you for answering my lomax question.
Its Friday night and am watching Yun Zi (I assume) sleeping on his back with all four paws are stretched out like a compass.
I so wish I could rub his belly.
He is so relaxed and breathing so slowly, I noticed Bai Yun would breathe much heavier.
I am back today at home and with you all again.Kept up via daughter about our dear ones and al of you and your adventures. We will try again to visit after giving me some recoup time. .
What a great blog about Yunnie and his training-such a smarty pants! But we knew from day one, he is a genius!
Virginia
So glad you’re home – Yunzi has been entertaiing us
Good to have you back, Virginia. I hope you are feeling better and better each day.
Welcome back Virginia. Hope you’re feeling better.
‘Hey, son, what are you doing?’ asked Gao Gao as he sees his son with a can of paint and a brush.
‘Hey, Pop, I wanted to work on my sign a little.’
‘Why? Isn’t the info correct? Our nannykeepers know us pretty well…’
‘True, Papa, but this won’t help me score with the panna ladies. I want to add that ‘Yun Zi is charming, suave, witty…’
‘Son, aren’t you a little young to be thinking about the ladies?’
‘Papa, it is nice to see what are the options out there. There is of course Hui Ling, Ms Panda Universe 2008, and then there is a sweet lady named Fengie…..and I met some young ladies when I visited Susie early this year….’
‘Heh Heh, that’s my boy. Your Mama was my first real girlfriend or so I tell her.’
‘YOU MEAN…’
‘Ssssssh, not so loud. Your Mama has ears everywhere….There was another panda lady, we had 2 dates but somehow the chemistry wasn’t there. She was a petite little thing wiht the cutest eye patches. Of course when I met your Mama, she was the beauty queen. Every male panda was fighting for her paw. But she said I made her laugh. I drove up in my red corvette and went, ‘Hey Babe,…’ and she said I had her at Hey. 4 cubbies later and counting, I ain’t complaining.’
‘So Papa, how will I know if she really loves me>’
‘Hee Hee, when she just wants to be with you…..’
‘Really?’
‘Well and when she accepts you furry paws and all.’
‘Papa, I like having this chat, can we hang out together more often?’
‘Sure thing, my pleasure.’
‘Papa, I love you.’
Why would you have to teach a panda to lay down? I thought that is their favortite thing in the world to do besides eat and sleep. Love grammmie