Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.
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Observing in a naturalistic setting is foundation of any research of pandas.
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Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.
Each morning the workday of the field keepers at the Wild Animal Park begins promptly at 6 a.m. with an all-staff meeting to organize the day. Food for the animals in each enclosure is determined by the nutritionists based on the needs of the animals, but it is  picked up by the keepers on the way out to the field.
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Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.
We sat in the back of a truck eagerly awaiting our trek onto the large exhibits of the Wild Animal Park.
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I have just returned from another trip to St. Bees Island, Australia, the home of the koala population that is the focus of our field research on the ecology of this enigmatic species. (See Bill’s previous blog, Koalas by Day, Koalas by Night.) This was the first trip where we had the full CRES koala team on board, so we were hopeful that we could uncover some interesting information about koala behaviour while combining our skills in the field for the first time.
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Yes, there’s more good news from Lion Camp at the Wild Animal Park! Mina’s three cubs, born on July 20, were introduced to their father for the first time yesterday, November 16. They have had access to Izu through an introduction screen inside the bedroom area for several weeks now. As with his older cubs, Abena and Bakari, Izu has been happy to interact with his younger offspring through the screen and has also enjoyed visiting with Mina.
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As you enter the San Diego Zoo, the first exhibit you see is Flamingo Lagoon. But even before you spot the Caribbean flamingos, you may notice some hefty and flamboyant hibiscus flowers along the front of the Lagoon. These are unique plants, hybridized by a local grower, and they are in full bloom right now. In fact, it seems there’s hardly a month of the year in which these spectacular shrubs are not blooming. This poses a bit of a problem for the gardener (me), by the way, since it’s always more desirable to prune when the flowering season is over. If I let the hibiscus go too long between prunings, the flamingos would soon disappear behind the shrubbery!
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Ellie recalls the first 10 years of giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous blog, The Panda Decade, Part 1.
Late 1996 and early 1997 were instructive days. We learned how much time a panda could spend in a tree, how quickly they could stop eating and fall asleep, and those rainstorms that were problematic for humans were no bother to pandas. They’d just shake their thick, coarse coats and stay dry underneath. In those early days, in fact, given the option to go into their bedrooms or stay out in a downpour, the downpour was generally preferred, especially by Bai Yun. (She has, with time – and age? – chosen to shelter more often, if given the option.)
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I thought I would walk over to Janey’s exhibit this afternoon and see what she was up to. Today she is sharing her outdoor environment with a family of siamangs and four other orangutan friends. I was somewhat surprised to see Janey climbing one of the very tall structures inside of her exhibit! I was surprised because Janey will turn 45 next year. For an orangutan, 45 years old is considered entering the later stages of life. Some orangutans have been known to live into their fifties!
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Thanks so much for your questions and comments on my blog, Panda Enrichment; you encourage me to continue sharing my days with you at the panda station at the San Diego Zoo!
One comment was on scent and if pandas have responded to human smells. I have seen them respond to our visitors, and it is interesting to watch them raise their noses in the air and smell, then turn and look at that person. I remember several years ago I was watching Mei Sheng (pictured) sleeping on the climbing structure facing me; as I was talking, Mei Sheng opened his eyes and started huffing and a low growl came from him. |inline
Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.
Dr. Allan Pessier, veterinary pathologist, knows he has an unusual job. He told us that people have asked him, ” Why do you examine animals that have already died? Why don’t you just toss them out?” He explains that if you never know what killed an animal, then you can’t prevent that same thing from being the cause of death of others. Considering the fact that the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park house a lot of endangered species, it’s an important thing to keep them alive.
