Mei Sheng arrived safely at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Wolong Nature Reserve after a two-day trip (he left the San Diego Zoo on November 5). Members of the Giant Panda Team that are with him still today report that his trip from San Diego to China was smooth. Upon arrival in Shanghai, Mei Sheng was a little excited with the large gatherings that awaited him. He was received with a shower of media attention in both Shanghai and Chengdu, as well as a grand welcoming ceremony in Wolong.
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Many of you Polar Cam viewers may have noticed some differences at the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge over the past week. There have been solo bears and even pairs but not the usual trio of playful bears that everyone loves to watch. Now the three bears are back and one of them is sporting a new hair cut. That would be Tatqiq. While I have stated that we continue to change things up and try to keep diversity in the group, unfortunately that’s not what last week was all about.
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Fellow panda keeper Kathy Hawk and I, as well as staff accompanying him to China, arrived at the San Diego Zoo at 2 a.m. to secure Mei Sheng in his travel crate and send him on his way to China. Like the good bear he is, he was awake and waiting for us when we went down to his exhibit, despite being four hours early with his breakfast. I fed Mei Sheng some biscuits and apples, and he immediately went into his travel crate for more. After securing the crate door, both Kathy and I fed him some more biscuits, apples, yams, and carrots, and then gave him some bamboo.
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We had an incredible response when we called upon all of you to suggest a name for our newest giant panda cub! More than 2,400 names were submitted in person to the San Diego Zoo. And now we have four names for all of you to choose from: Li Hua, Ming Zhu, Zhen Zhen, and Xiao Li. Through Sunday, November 11, you can vote for your favorite name through our online poll.
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The three Sumatran tiger cubs (Kemala, Sari, and Rojo) are growing up so fast (see previous blog, Sumatran Tiger Cubs Update)! They are almost 11 months old and getting as big as their mother, Delta. Rojo, the little boy, now weighs a whopping 130 pounds (59 kilograms)!! His sisters, Sari and Kemala, are close behind, weighing in at 114 pounds (52 kilograms). They are quite the handful and definitely have distinct personalities.
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Our condor research hit a milestone at the end of July, 2007, when the colorful cohort of four young birds left their birthplace at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park to begin a new adventure in Baja California, Mexico at Sierra San Pedro de Martí­r National Park. The birds traveled in crates to the facility there, where they were released into a flight pen where they will adapt to life in Baja for several months before their release to the wild sometime next year. It’s hard to believe that the goofy little youngsters we observed last November have grown so much, and that they will soon be soaring in the wild. (See Suzanne’s previous condor blog, Condors at the Crossroads.)
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