Well, here I am, blogging about Steller’s sea-eagles. First, a bit of background to the current work and the maps on this Web site: the San Diego Zoo, Natural Research Limited, and Magadan State Reserve in Russia (state reserves are called zapovedniks in Russia) teamed back in 2006 to track young Steller’s sea-eagles via satellite. Our aims were twofold. First, we wanted to track eagles in the years prior to becoming breeders (large eagles like the Steller’s sea-eagle take four years or more to come into adult plumage). Surprisingly, very little is known about this period of time for any eagle species, and this undermines conservation. This is particularly true for the Steller’s sea-eagle, because its population is relatively small (probably naturally so), and it breeds in remote areas, so its breeding numbers are not closely monitored. We also wanted to weave the movements of Steller’s sea-eagles, this Web site, and the birds in the San Diego Zoo’s collection together as a tool for public conservation awareness.
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Thanks to the efforts of many people, eight condors were transported from the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park by truck, back across the border to the Sierra San Pedro de Martir release site on Tuesday, March 11. This was the first time we transported condors across the border by land and not by air.
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Eight California condors returned to the Sierra San Pedro de Martir National Park in Mexico after being treated for lead poisoning at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park earlier this year.

Ocho condores de California regresan al Sierra San Pedro de Martir en Mexico despues der ser tratados en el San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park para envenenamiento de plomo.

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It is just before the sun rises here in Wolong and quiet enough to hear a pin drop. I am on my way into the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda to take audio recordings of the giant pandas before the keepers arrive with the long-awaited carts of fresh bamboo. As I make my way through the facility, some of the giant pandas are still asleep in positions that could make it impossible for any human to walk the next day! Some are in trees with their heads hanging upside-down, while others are passed out flat on their back with their arms and legs sticking out in all different directions. Several of the giant pandas are munching away on pieces of bamboo they have saved from the day before. It is clear that their eyes are focused on me, just in case I might have tasty treat in hand.
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Each week, numerous news stories highlight the changes in the Arctic habitat initiated by global climate change. Typically, reports emphasize the rapid and dramatic changes that are occurring in this once remote part of our planet. Often, the reports discuss the impact of these changes on polar bears. I think we can all agree that it is hard to imagine an Arctic without polar bears. It is also clear that as the Arctic ecosystem changes rapidly, the potential impact on polar bears from other human activities is amplified.
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Gao Gao, San Diego Zoo

I’d like to take the opportunity to introduce a new scientific program on panda vocal communication. I’d also like to introduce you to Jen Keating, who will be writing blogs about this program from Wolong, China, our long-time partner in panda conservation.

Any visitor to our panda exhibit at the San Diego Zoo or our Web site knows that we’ve had a long-standing interest in how pandas communicate. Why are we so interested in knowing what pandas are saying to each other? There are many reasons, but mostly because communication is fundamental for successful reproduction. Without communication, mates would be unable to locate one another or negotiate the delicate courtship process leading to mating.
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At first glance, you might think this blog is about people who paint pictures of polar bears at the San Diego Zoo. What you will soon discover is that it’s really about us painting our polar bears and then letting them try their hand, or rather paw, at creating a masterpiece of their own. Yes, I’m talking about our polar bear paw prints. All three of our bears have had an opportunity to participate in art class, but I must say that Chinook is our star student.
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I have recently begun watching Chinook (pictured) and Kalluk as a part of a team of researchers conducting a breeding study on polar bears at Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo. One day each week I observe this male-female pair as they come out on exhibit in the morning, recording their behavior and looking for signs of estrus-related behavior from them. It has been a while since I had the pleasure of routinely watching polar bears. The last time I participated in research on this species it was when our polar bear family included individuals with names like Buzz, Neil, Bonnie, and Castor; if those names are familiar to you, then you know how long ago that study effort was!
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In the 1980s, the California condor population reached a new low of only 22 birds. The species was at the brink of extinction, but thanks to the efforts of the California Condor Recovery Program the species now soars at 300 individuals. Condors are still an endangered species and so the Recovery Team, made up of government agencies and conservation organizations in the United States and Mexico, is forging ahead with breeding and release programs.
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To look at the panda girls (Bai Yun, Su Lin and Zhen Zhen) here at the Giant Panda Research Station at the San Diego Zoo this week, you’d never know that everyone had just changed places. All of them seemed so, well, normal. Bai Yun napping, eating, and seeking the keepers’ attention for fresh bamboo; ZZ napping (pictured) and exploring, interacting with the keepers during cleaning time; Su Lin eating and climbing into a tree to nap. It’s just as they had done in their previous exhibits a week or a month before. For me, it’s wonderful to see that the pandas can make these moves, which are done with much care and concern on the part of the staff, so easily.
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