Keeper Update
Posted at 2:43 pm September 21, 2005 by Kathy HawkLast night I got a really good look at our panda cub in the den while Bai Yun was out eating in her garden room. I was setting up Bai’s bedroom for her final p.m. feeding and I took a look at our cub resting in the den. Much to my delight I noticed her left eye was definitely beginning to open! I looked at her right eye and it was starting to open as well! I started talking to her and she faced me and started crawling towards me making suckling sounds! We keepers cherish moments like this!!
Today during our weekly vet exam, our vets confirmed that our cub’s eyes were beginning to open! Her weight this week is 5.4 pounds (2.45 kilograms). The vets also commented that she has a new tooth out on the left side of her mouth (lateral incisor). This will be an exciting time to watch our Panda Cam and see how our girl begins to respond to her new world!
Kathy Hawk is a senior keeper on the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Team.
View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.
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September 21st, 2005 at 3:48 pm
In the last day or two I sensed a new relationship between mother and cub. Bai Yun sat down next to the cub and put her head next to the cub before scooping the cub up in her arms. This is the behavior that you seemed to emmulate when picking up Mei Sheng.
Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems like a mother/child bond in now forming, instead of a mother/infant with the emergence of the cub’s sight and hearing.
September 21st, 2005 at 3:58 pm
Hi, I just want to say I am joining thousands of others across the country watching the progress of your ” little” girl! On the Panda Cams I have watched her grow from a little white mouse to the beauty she is today! What an amazing transformation! Thank you so much for letting us keep an eye on her with you!
A new Panda Lover!
Kim
September 21st, 2005 at 4:12 pm
OH MY GOODNESS! That is so so so cute!
What a li’l sweetie…she must’ve thought you were mom! Love the fluffy bundle of cuteness~~ I just can’t believe how cute panda babies are – they’re like no other creature on this Earth. Kathy you have the best job in the world!!
September 21st, 2005 at 5:20 pm
It’s truly amazing to talk to the baby and she responded!
September 21st, 2005 at 5:27 pm
Wow! This is so exciting! So how long does it take for the eyes to completely open? I can hardly wait until I see her ” toddling around” after Bai Yun. I notice she is leaving baby alone for long periods of time because it seems like every time I check in, our baby girl is in the den by herself. But she doesn’t seem to be in any distress or crying?? I wish we had sound out here in Panda Cam World!
September 21st, 2005 at 5:54 pm
How precious!! She crawled toward you?! She will be very friendly to her caretakers when she grows up. I guess human language is easy for her to understand. Some keepers mentioned that pandas will have no difficulties to understand their keepers when they came here from China. They are just smart.
September 21st, 2005 at 6:53 pm
Thank you so much Kathy for the wonderful update. Also thank everyone involved with mom and baby for the care they are giving both. I can hardly wait everyday to get on Panda Cam and I am never disappointed. Will mom ever carry baby out of den? Thank you again. Paula Anderson
September 21st, 2005 at 8:05 pm
I learned about your Panda Cam six days ago, and now I can’t wait to get up in the morning to find out what Bai Yun and her precious baby are doing. She is such an attentive and loving mother. I was thrilled to see photos and video of this latest exam and to learn that baby’s eyes are opening. Can you explain the lay-out of Bai Yun’s living area? Is the garden room the same as her bedroom? Does she know and recognize you?
Keep up the great work!
September 21st, 2005 at 8:17 pm
What a thrill…I had been glued to reports of the disabled Jetblue airliner and our own breaking news about a car plowing into pedestrians on the strip in Vegas (where I live), not to discount the news of Hurricane Rita…your little bear is truly a welcoming news event…thank you for the updates, you really show the enthusiasm thru your reports.
September 21st, 2005 at 9:40 pm
Love the video and slides of the baby’s exam! What a mellow little girl she is. And her eyes are opening! Does Mama panda get regular exams now, too?
September 22nd, 2005 at 3:32 am
Hi Kathy, it was good to hear from you again with your Panda Magic weblog and now the exciting news that you witnessed that baby girl has started to open her eyes – even more magic. I have a feeling that she is also pulling her legs in more to enable her to start walking!
It does not seem long since Hua Mei was at this stage, as you know until this year when the weblogs became available for the public, we were not so well informed. Thank you all for making it possible; I am aware it adds to your work load to keep us all up to date with the much appreciated progress reports etc.
When Bai is resting with her daughter she often has a ’smile’ of contentment on her face, she is now a very experienced mom and takes it all in her stride. I know how you all enjoyed it when she had Hua Mei and later Mei Sheng; they are all a credit to your devotion and expertise.
Keep up the good work.
Kind regards……Hazel Turnbull
September 22nd, 2005 at 5:53 am
I think that is absolutely the sweetest Weblog so far!!!!
September 22nd, 2005 at 5:57 am
Question. What happens if a baby is born and it is defective in some way or another and the Mother knows this? Will Mom do away with the baby or will the Zoo take the baby way?
September 22nd, 2005 at 7:21 am
Kathy, thank you so much for the continuing updates.
September 22nd, 2005 at 8:40 am
Watching Bai Yun with this cub and her previous ones, she loves to cuddle with them even if it’s not time to feed them. When they were older and outside with her, she would take time to play and sleep next to them. What a wonderful mother. Thanks to all the staff for your devotion to these wonderful animals and for sharing with us.
September 22nd, 2005 at 9:03 am
In one week’s time, the baby has become a beautiful little girl now. I think she looks like Mei Sheng.
September 22nd, 2005 at 9:14 am
MAMA AND BABY SURE ARE A REFLECTION OF THE CARE AND LOVE YOU ALL PUT OUT TO THEM…AND THE LOVE WE SEND YOU ALL…WHAT A SIMPLE THING YET SO POWERFUL… THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXCITEMENT AND BLOGS, ETC…GIVE THE LITTLE ONE A GREAT BIG HUG AND KISS FROM AUNT TAMI…AND ONE TO MOM…THANK YOU, THANK YOU….
September 22nd, 2005 at 9:35 am
Oh my gosh Kathy, didn’t your heart just melt when that little sweet pea responded to your voice. Am I wrong, or does it seem as though this little one is going to take after her daddy, Gao Gao, and be a smaller bear? Unlike her cousin in Washington who’s a little bulldozer:o) Seems he’s going to take after his grandpa – Pan Pan. He’s already almost 10 pounds – what a BIG boy! But it seems fitting that our sweetheart in SD be a cute, petite little lady. Thanks again to all of you there at the SDZ for these wonderful updates and everything you do for our sweet pandas.
Jeannie
September 22nd, 2005 at 10:04 am
It seems to me that the San Diego cub is a lot closer to walking than the DC cub. DO the female cubs develop faster that the male cubs, similarly to their human counterparts? When can we expect the cubbies first steps on all fours?
Ellen
September 22nd, 2005 at 12:08 pm
It does seem to me that you see mom and baby sleeping face to face now – it’s as if she wants baby to see her. I love watching them sleep together… the other day it looked as though baby was resting her head on moms arm (leg?) and Bai was resting her head on baby – very sweet!! Right now they are laying down face to face again – both snoozing away I’m sure. Wish I could cuddle up with them for a little after-lunch siesta – they look so peaceful!! Thanks for the lovely update.
September 22nd, 2005 at 12:16 pm
There is No price which can be put on this birth and MY ability to see her grow. MY heart will truly be with her one day when she returns home. I feel as if it is ” MY” baby in many ways. The Panda Center is a great aset to all of USA and I am thankful for it and the wonderful, dedicated team!
September 22nd, 2005 at 12:51 pm
How cute!! The baby responded to your voice and crawled towards you! I wish I could be there to experience this precious moment! Thank you so much for the wonderful update. I have been watching Bai Yun, Mei Xiang and their cubs. Undoubtedly, both of them are great moms, but I noticed that the two mothers have different parenting styles. Mei Xiang tends to attend immediately to her baby boy’s vocalization while Bai Yun seems to be more relaxed. And it also appeared to me that the SD cub is closer to walking than the DC cub? Is it true that female cubs develop faster than male cubs? Or is it due to the mothers’ different styles?
September 22nd, 2005 at 1:44 pm
Since the male cub is so big for his age, that may be a factor in his learning to walk.?? Those little back legs might have to mature and exercise a bit more to lift that big round tummy and rear end. It’s that way with human babies–the smaller spry ones usually walk earlier. Both cubs are so adorable! Thanks to all of you for sharing the pics and the blogs…
September 22nd, 2005 at 3:45 pm
Aw kathy, Thank you so much for this latest news. How can you resist scooping her up and taking her home hee hee !! My picture gallery is growing every day and the latest one was as another poster mentioned Mum and babygirl facing one another when asleep. Priceless !! Valerie Warburton – UK.
September 22nd, 2005 at 3:59 pm
i enjoy watching mom and baby together. I love the way bai scoops her up and takes care of her. and when they lay down to sleep and the baby is restless, she picks her up and cuddles her to quiet her down. I do have a question. at what age does the mother start to take the cub outside of the den?
September 22nd, 2005 at 7:27 pm
Thank you so very much for this update. The cub is absolutely the most amazingly cute creature. I do so envy your experience and very happy that I got to live out my panda cub experience thru such wonderful staff at the San Diego Zoo like yourself. Thanks so much for giving us this gift!
September 22nd, 2005 at 9:04 pm
As always i love watching the pandas. It’s nice to have a babe to watch again. One thing—It would be really great to have audio as they do in Washington. Watching is great but hearing all the ” chatting” between mom and babe is wonderful. Praise to all of you for allowing us to take part in this wonderful experience!!
September 23rd, 2005 at 3:44 am
Thank you so very much for the updates on ” your/our” little cub. The nurturing bond between mamma and cub are so very precious and watching them relieves my daily stress!..:)
I just wish I could help you take care of this precious little angel. Give her a hug for me…:)
September 23rd, 2005 at 7:07 am
This is the first place I go to every morning and the last place I see every night. I have really enjoyed watching the little one grow. I have become a Panda Baby Addict.
September 23rd, 2005 at 7:39 am
May I ask a question about Mei Sheng, the handsome young man? I watched him twice recently when he had his breakfast/lunch. It seems he likes to pick some strong bamboo to chew. He might have strong teeth and jaws, but we wonder whether he could get enough nutrients. As for Mei Xiang (the panda mom at NZ), she seems to only eat bamboo leaves, which look much easier to chew and digest. Is it Mei Sheng’s choice? Based on his birthday video, he likes various food (his picture with red cheek!!). Will he learn the trick if he spends more time with other pandas?
September 23rd, 2005 at 11:49 am
May I ask a question about the tooth? Do pandas get baby teeth, lose them and then get adult permanent teeth? If so, at what ages does this happen? Thank you.
September 23rd, 2005 at 1:11 pm
How wonderful to get such a response from baby! Communication between species is really so simple if we humans are able, as you are, to get our big human egos out of the way and to keep it simple and loving. What an honor to be able to share your life with these beautiful animals! As Susan commented, they really are a gift to us. And you are a gift to them.
October 7th, 2005 at 9:35 am
I am so enjoying the panda cam. Check several times a day to see what the baby is doing. I’ve noticed a couple times that mom has brought some bamboo into the den. Is that for her or the baby? I so envy you guys!!