Some of you have commented recently that you miss seeing regular photos and hearing Su Lin’s growth updates from her veterinary exams. As you may know, it has become more difficult to find time for these exams because our little girl spends so much of her time high up in the tree, well beyond the reach of the keepers. She isn’t easily coaxed down, as even her mother Bai Yun will stand below and call to her to no avail. If Su Lin isn’t feeling motivated to come down, then there isn’t much we can do.
|inline

Proceeds from the Adopt-An-Animal program have been distributed among the keepers for much needed toys and equipment for their critters. The four cheetah cubs that were hand raised at the San Diego Zoo’s Children’s Zoo at the end of last year are now seven months old and living at an off-exhibit area at the Wild Animal Park. |inline

So many of our panda fans had such a great time watching Su Lin disguise herself as a mud ball last week (Feb. 28). Want to know the story?

Anticipating the rains that were predicted by our weather service in San Diego, we added a large amount of an organic top soil to Bai Yun and Su Lin’s lair/shelter first thing in the morning. We hoped that they would use it if they wanted to get out of the rain. Bai Yun frequently rolls in it when we refresh the soil. But we weren’t sure if Su Lin would use it or not, especially since the previous night she had stayed out in the rain, almost relishing the cleansing!
|inline

San Diego was fortunate to have a bit of rain last week. Rain has an impact on animal behavior, and many of you noticed it on the Panda Cam. The youngest panda responded with an increase in activity level that resulted in some interesting changes in her appearance. Su Lin morphed from a little black-and-white bundle into a dark mass of panda energy crawling around her enclosure.

The panda’s coat is a blend of black and white fur that mirrors the pattern of pigmentation on their skin. When an infant panda is born, it is nearly naked, allowing us to see the pink skin all over its body. After a week or so the pigmentation in the skin comes in, and the infant develops black ears, a black saddle, and black eye patches. Once the fur grows in, the black skin is covered by black coat, while pink skin is covered by white coat.
|inline

Employees at the Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo are given the opportunity to experience other jobs thru the Job Loan Program. Employees bid on posted positions that are needed only temporarily. I have been working ” on loan” in the Park’s Horticulture Department as a gardener for three weeks now. The loan will run for five months, then I will go back to my regular job in the Park’s Merchandising Department.
|inline

In 1996, six California condors were released into the wild near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Condors hadn’t been seen in this area since the turn of the 20th century, and it was the beginning of an ongoing effort to reestablish the nearly extinct species.

Yesterday (March 2), the Wild Animal Park’s Harter Veterinary Medical Center (HVMC) received an urgent call from the Phoenix Zoo, which medically supports the condor release program in Arizona and had just received a desperately ill bird. Condors in this ongoing cooperative release program are regularly monitored visually and with radio transmitters. The 10-year old male condor, ” Condor 9601,” that was part of the group released 9 years ago was discovered on the floor of the Grand Canyon, sick and unable to move.
|inline

” Animal Express” is an outreach program in which Wild Animal Park educators (like me) bring animals (like Myakka, the baby alligator) to offsite schools, shelters, and senior care facilities in San Diego’s North County area. The idea is to bring the Park to people who aren’t able to visit themselves. Animal Express programs are grant-funded, so they’re free to the facilities that we visit.
|inline

The San Diego Zoo’s Girls In Science (GIS) participants spent two glorious afternoons in the company of some of the Zoo’s most amazing creatures””oh, and we met some pretty cool birds, too! We were fortunate to meet with keepers Anne Clayton and Amy Klotz and spent our time visiting open bird exhibits and enclosed aviaries.

Anne’s GIS group met her down at the African Marsh exhibit, where we learned about the lesser flamingos, African spoonbills, saddle-bill storks, and white-faced whistling ducks, among others. This exhibit houses loads of birds that don’t belong to the Zoo, too: mallards, herons, and egrets. Anne showed us how she tries to feed the storks and cormorants individually, because many of the ” locals” will steal their food. The girls were given the opportunity to feed the waterfowl by tossing handfuls of food into the marsh. The feeding frenzy was amazing!
|inline

Our lion and puppy duo have been doing lots of growing! Koza, the lion, will be 4 months old on March 12, and weighs in at 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms). Cairo, the puppy, is a little heavier than her companion, but they are still relatively equal in weight. There have been a few changes and milestones for the pair in recent weeks.
|inline