Visit-A-Job: Pandas and Deer
Posted at 12:30 pm April 25, 2006 by Mary ZanotelliSee Mary’s previous Weblog about her Visit-A-Job at the Giant Panda Research Station.
After meeting Su Lin, it was tough to keep my mind on the task at hand, but the work day had just begun. We needed to get the panda boys on exhibit and we had other animals to attend to before the San Diego Zoo opened.
To transport Gao Gao and Mei Sheng from their evening lodging to their daytime exhibit areas, the keepers moved them through a sort of panda ” subway,” a long fenced-in chute that seemed to snake around the buildings. The keepers and I walked alongside the fences and climbed over the chutes using ladders, all the while encouraging the bears to keep making progress. Of course, the bears were in no particular hurry this morning, so each one took his time to check out the scent markings of the panda that had come that way before him. Mei Sheng even stopped to make his own grown-up scent mark: he did a handstand and rubbed his rump (the scent gland is located underneath the bear’s tail) high up against a wall, marking the area as his territory and showing just how big he is in the process.
Once the bears were all comfy in their exhibit areas, it was on to the rest of the animals in the panda keepers’ ” string.” We fed and cleaned the enclosures of western tufted deer (I learned that the San Diego Zoo was the first to exhibit these deer) and Siberian musk deer (hunted for their musk glands for use in medicine and perfumes). The males of both of these Asian deer species had an interesting physical adaptation that took me by surprise: they had long canine teeth that protruded from their mouths like fangs! Apparently, the males use these teeth when competing with other males over territory and/or females.
By now, the first guests were entering the Zoo. The day was already so eventful; it was hard to believe it was only 9 a.m.! My next job was to attend to the three-banded armadillos and the southern crested porcupines. The armadillos were sleeping while we cleaned their enclosure, but the porcupines were awake and excited! Maybe a little too excited: we put some vegetables in a section of the enclosure that could be closed off, and that kept them busy so we could work in the other area without having them running around underfoot. (These porcupines weren’t quite as snuggly as my friend Pocahontas at the Wild Animal Park. She, too, is an African crested porcupine, but ” Pokie” is an animal ambassador and she’ll sit in, or under, my lap when I visit her!)
Finally it was time for a lunch break. My next installment will be posted soon!
Mary Zanotelli, an educator at the Wild Animal Park, spent the day with panda keepers during a Visit-A-Job.
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April 25th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Mary, I can imagine it would be Very Difficult Indeed to concentrate on work when surrounded by so many interesting animals, and especially the pandas, of course! Thanks for giving us a ‘behind the scenes’ account of what goes on in the keepers’ day!
April 25th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Thank you so much for these updates. I love them. Your time is greatly appreciated. Wish I could be in your shoes just for one day.
The picture of the deer with the fangs was interesting. Thanks for the info on them too.
April 25th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Thanks, Mary, for another great installment. So Mei Sheng is like his papa with the scent marking, huh? Boys will be boys.
I am looking forward to your next posting.
April 26th, 2006 at 3:27 am
What fun!!! I bet this was one work day that you hoped would never end. Can’t wait for the next chapter, Mary. As usual, thanks!
April 26th, 2006 at 5:17 am
Mary, I am sooo jealous!! What a great day so far. I can’t wait for the next installment. Can someone tell me about pandas and temperature? I see Mei at NZ panting alot and it worries me.
April 26th, 2006 at 5:37 am
Wow, I thought that the keepers only tended to the pandas; they really have a tough job tending to so many and all having different needs. Hats off to you. I have been to the San Diego Zoo and I am amazed at how well all the animals and their enclosures are kept. Thank you all for a hard job well done.
April 26th, 2006 at 8:15 am
You are learning so much about our furry (and prickly) little friends! Thank you so much for sharing your observations with all of us. I’m definitely jealous of your job! How wonderful it must be to work with all those amazing creatures. Keep up the good work, and keep up the wonderful blogs.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:10 am
I would also like to thank you for the new update about Su Lin and the fruit, and the fact that she is finally spending some time on the ground. Thank you
April 26th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Western Tufted Deers….they’re the ones across the ” street” from Panda exhibit, right? When I first noticed their fangs, I couldn’t stop staring at them! They’re tiny and they look kind of cute, yet they have those fangs! Nature loves her little surprises.
Are armadillos and porcupines in the panda canyon too? I can’t find them in my head.
Editor’s note: Yes, the tufted deer are across from pandas. The armadillos and porcupines are found north of the Canyon Cafe, at the base of the speed ramp that goes up to Horn & Hoof Mesa. Hope this helps!
April 29th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Mary, thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us and we look forward to hearing about your afternoon activities. The blog has been very busy with reports from China but your experiences and the reminder that other animals exist, need care and love are equally important.
Thanks also to the Editor for his/her timely and informative comments. The mix up of Bai Yun and Mei Sheng’s photos was a great test for we, the readers. Feel free to repeat this and see who’s really watching!
We are all sensitive to the personalities of these bears. Such interaction with elephants was beyond my comprehension until I saw Animal Planet’s program ” Elephant Diaries” . At the Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi each keeper sleeps with his baby elephant until it is weaned. I had once received a series of photos under the title ” Funny Animal Pictures” and now know the elephant and keeper in bed next to each other is not a joke.
May 22nd, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I think ya’ll are so cute and very gentle.
Love ya’ll!!
Lauren Johnson
May 30th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
I am having so much fun researching giant pandas. I think that they are quite adorable. I think that it is very sad that they are endangered and that zoos should try harder to release more to the wild. I think that it will be a much better place with more pandas around. It is also very fastinating that most people only like pandas because they are cute when I, on the other hand, enjoy the panda species because of their eating habits and habitat. The panda is a vegetarian like I am trying to be, plus they live in a pretty warm climate area. Happy panda watching!- With lots of love, Alaina S
May 31st, 2006 at 1:46 pm
This is me again. I have a few questions I couldn’t find when researching:
*Do pandas eat watermelon?
*Do pandas eat anything other than bamboo?
*I listened to your recording about pandas and how they behave, and was wondering if two adult pandas of the same gender can be ” friends” ?