Business as Usual
Posted at 12:41 pm September 26, 2008 by Suzanne HallYesterday, we had to remove some of the tall, eroded poplar trees in the exhibit adjacent to Zhen Zhen. Despite the loud chainsaw action, she seemed comforted enough by her mother’s presence that she maintained her cool.
The trees had to come out, since their weakened state meant that they were a hazard for the bears; we did lose a branch recently that came crashing down from above. Unfortunately, these were the trees that Su Lin often loved to climb and be several stories high, where she was able to see the whole belly of the zoo easily.
There are still several trees and climbing structures left for her, but their spread is lower to the ground than the giant, upright poplars. And there are still some big, healthy poplars in other exhibit spaces, ones adored by her big brother Mei Sheng; these will do nicely to allow her to people-watch from time to time!
The tree folks also trimmed back a few other branches here and there, pruned a bit of bamboo around the exhibits and generally cleaned up some of our out-of-reach spaces. This kind of work usually needs to be done when the zoo is closed, because the large trucks with buckets to elevate people to the high branches block roads within the zoo. There is a lot of work of this type that is needed routinely to keep a zoo in tip top shape, things most people never see or think about. Today the facility is quiet again.
I had the chance this morning to check in with Bai Yun and Zhen Zhen. Bai Yun had just come in to her bedroom and tunnel area so that staff could clean out her exhibit and stock it with her breakfast. She ambled purposefully into the tunnel for her daily weigh in, and took a few biscuits calmly while she sat on the scale. Then she headed back to her bedroom for a bamboo snack.
Zhen was, as is often the case, asleep high in a tree. She did not respond to keeper Kathy’s calls for her to come in, so the morning clean up activities took place far beneath her dangling feet. I saw her open her eyes and peer down at the goings on below, but she otherwise ignored the efforts.
Its nice to see her so calm and relaxed. Looks like we are back to business as usual.
Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician at the San Diego Zoo.
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September 26th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Thanks, Suzanne. It is interesting to read about all the ” re-decorating” that is going on there – either by the diva herself or the staff! Glad to see too, that our boy Gao is back on exhibit and eating boo with his usual gusto!
September 26th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
WOW!!! Love the new panda page/cam! Great job guys!
September 26th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Thank you Suzanne for your update. If the noise bothered any of the pandas I certainly wasn’t aware of it by watching. Everything looked normal. I do spring cleaning – you do fall cleaning!
Just have to say I LOVE THE NEW PAGE and SETUP. Someone has spend quite a bit of time doing this. Keep up the good work!
September 26th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Hi!
I just love the new opening page! Also the pictures are so clear!
Thank You to the SDZ!! Sounds like ZZ needs her beauty
sleep! Have a nice weekend everyone!
Linda
September 26th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
LOVE the new landing page — as well as the new format for the photo gallery, meet the pandas. Really well done — and fun to read again about the panda family, and see photos of when the kids were babies. Thanks!
September 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I love the Panda Cam and Panda Blogs. Unfortunately I do not even like the new web site!!! I find it very user unfriendly. I have to go all over the site to find what I’m looking for. Please consider returning to the old format, or fixing this one.
September 26th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Just want to say that the new Panda Cam page is very nice! And, the best part, when I clicked over to it, there were Bai and ZZ front and center, just hanging out like they knew where their marks were and decided to put on a good show for everyone! And now Zhen Zhen is having a good time with some ‘boo she pulled up.
How did you get them to be so cooperative?!?
September 26th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
The ” send a postcard” from the panda cam isn’t working…
Moderator’s note: The Web Team has done some tweaking and it worked just now – try it again.
September 26th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I just had a treat: a close-up on Zhen mouthing bamboo. It is the first time I personally saw her doing it. (Thanks Meerkats!) She’s growing up sooooo fast!
I’m wondering what Su Lin thinks of the redoration, after her attempts to ” fix” the branches.
Nice new pandaCAM site. Looks good!
Love, Joy
September 26th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Hello Suzanne! Always great to hear from you and to get new panda news. I suppose you will get a lot of comments about the new panda pages. I am an old lady, and somewhat resistant to change, but I like the cam page – nice & clear. The recent upgrades have been appreciated.
One feature I wish you had was the ability to make the cam picture full screen. I also like the Meet the Pandas page. Now we can see complete info on all the pandas. The photo gallery is also nice, but it seems we have lost the captions that accompanied the pictures. How are we to know who is who?
Well I know you cannot be all things to all people, so please accept my thanks for being the one zoo website that allows these participatory blogs. And tell the rest of the zoo to post more blogs under Animal Stories. We are not just panda lovers, we are animal lovers and want to hear news about all the species. Thanks for listening!
September 26th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Love your new web page layout. The photo’s in the photo gallery are just beautiful.
September 26th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hmm….your new page is very interesting. I must admit I am not one for change, so it will take me some getting used to. At first I panicked because I couldn’t find the panda blogs. For a minute I was worried that you had removed it! Then I found it. I do LOVE the pictures, though. They are beautiful!
Saw the new pic of panda baby in Atlanta. He is so cute! I never cease to be amazed at how tiny these little guys are.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I love the new panda cam page! Great job! = )
September 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
The new panda cam page looks great. It is even bamboo green!
I didn’t find it difficult at all to find things on it. In fact, all you need to do is scroll a bit, and find everything you need…even this page! Thank you to all those responsible. It is never easy to design a web page that is user friendly, but you succeeded. And it is easy on the eyes. Even at 9:00 Su Lin is easily visible chowing down on bamboo, and beautiful as well.
I have to tell all of you, I hope some of you were watching ZA earlier. Lun Lun was taking a break, and the camera was zoomed in on the chubby cubbie (1 lb., 15.16 oz.), and he was squirming, managed to roll over on his back, squirmed some more, then rolled onto his side, then actually managed to land on his chubby tummy. What a kick it is to watch him alone.
Have a weekend, everyone. Be safe. (And send some cool air to Texas! Please!)
September 26th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Hello panda lovers,
Another video alert – you mustn’t miss this one. Sign on to youtube and search for ” Laundry Day at the National Zoo.” It is guaranteed entertainment.
I want to congratulate SDZ on the new panda webpage. It looks really good!
Well, off to more panda watching.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:14 am
Just have to say I’m really liking the new look page! Great job!! I’m in the UK watching Panda Cam on a daily basis (I’m really hooked!!), and love seeing what’s new with the Pandas and just watching them doing their day to day things – even night night antics – yep even have it on when it’s the middle of the night, sometimes catch a glimps of Su Lin wondering about :-p One day I would love to come out there and see these wonderful creatures in the flesh!!
Love reading the blogs – keep up the good work!!
Becca xx
September 27th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Love the new panda page! Everything is there that was before, just better organized. This is called human enrichment.
Moderator’s note: ” Human enrichment” LOL!
September 27th, 2008 at 8:59 am
I just realized that the ‘Fun Facts’ is now slightly out of date! San Diego no longer has the most pandas in America – they share that title with Zoo Atlanta. It is SO fabulous to be able to say that!
September 27th, 2008 at 10:56 am
What I meant to say was…” Have a SAFE weekend, everyone.”
September 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Mary #6 New things always take some time getting used to. You’ll be breezing right along soon I’m sure.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Wow! What a surprise when I switched the Panda Cam on today. The pages are such a beautiful colour and very easy on the eye – very relaxing. The photo gallery is just ‘ooh’ and ‘aaahh’ and ‘oh how cute’, with the close-up photos showing so much more detail than before. And being able to read the details of all the pandas together rather than bringing them up one at a time is so much nicer as you can compare weights and ages etc.
Great, love it. I take it that Su Lin is now on Cam 28, not Gao Gao (unless Gao Gao has suddenly developed a massive liking for hanging upside down in a tree trying to get treats out of a ball on a rope!
September 27th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Many thanks Suzanne-it really helps when you update for those of us who are spoiled by your writing. Do you have an update on China yet? I sure would love to see ” my baby boy” and know that he is a-okay! I never expected to miss seeing him, and his smile, so much. All the pandas are fun to watch and I wish I had a bit of Zhen Zhen’s energy. Blessings, Claudia
September 27th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Thanks for the new updated site! Always enjoyed, of course! Thanks to everyone behind the scenes.
September 28th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I too, echo the comments by the other panda fans. The new web page and Panda Cam are fabulous! I can almost count the hairs on Zhen’s nose. You all did a fantastic job.
Rita
September 28th, 2008 at 9:08 am
The new Panda Cam site is gorgeous…pictures are soooo clear. But, I had a hard time locating the ” Blog” section. It used to be so easy to locate right with the Panda Cam. Or, maybe I just have not seen it! I just have to remember each time I go in…exactly WHERE I did find the ‘blog’ section.
September 28th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Oops! When I went in to the ‘New Panda Cam Page’, I then looked for ‘Blogs’ and couldn’t find them. Just now I went into the original Panda Cam Page and there were the ‘blogs’. Sorry about that.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
While Zhen Zhen had herself draped over a branch, Su Lin was busy exploring the trees that were left for her, flipping and rolling around on the end of a branch, which, luckily, held her up during her acrobatics. OMG–there she goes again! The family climbing gene is alive and well.
The one thing I miss in the new format is the information that used to be below the photo section, with the pictures and comments about Miss ZZ’s first exams. It was such a quick look at her progress.
Question–the pictures on the Panda Cam page–is that Bai Yun and then Bai Yun with Hua Mei?
September 28th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Hi, guys! I wasn’t going to write today, but I had better get on here and let you know about the AZ cub’s weight. Just read their Sun., 9/28 update today, and the cub has reached another weight milestone! He now weighs in at 969 grams, which means that he has hit 2 POUNDS!! YEA!!! They also said that since the cub is growing more and getting chubby, he’s been able to find his mom’s nipple faster and drinking his milk for much longer than last week, up to about 15 minutes! He’s also trying to use some of his muscles in his legs and neck, such as lifting his head up for a few seconds and trying to pull himself up with either his back legs or front legs. He’s also much fuzzier, too! He’s getting cuter by the day. There’s a great pic of him being held by one of the vets with him giving out a big yawn showing off the unusual black markings on his lower mouth. I’m with the rest of you, he’s no longer a stick of butter; he’s a tub of butter! What started out as a very rough first week for this little guy has turned out to be a triumph for him with his fighting spirit to live and growing at a pretty quick rate up to now. Lun has also done a great job in caring for this cub as well. She’s a very intelligent panda and knew that the keepers/vets were helping the both of them during those first 2 weeks. They both have come a long way during the month of September! Now, we’ll look towards October and watch this cub break more milestones, the biggest is when he’ll start opening up his eyes!
Got on the new pandacam page and saw little Miss ZZ on her favorite tree branch sound asleep! Great closeup of her too, so thanks to the cam people for that great shot of ZZ today! Also got on the AZ pandacam and saw Lun all curled up by her favorite corner with her little boy snuggled in her arms. I’m pretty sure that I saw the cub’s little head poking out of her furry arm when I was on the cam, but there was a slight shadow there. Will check back on that cam to see the cub again. Have been able to catch seeing the cub by himself a few times in the last couple of days, too. Neat!
To all of you San Diego college football fans, San Diego Univ. and SDSU both won their games yesterday! San Diego Chargers are playing today but don’t know that score as of now. My hometown baseball team, Tampa Bay Rays, clinched the American League East Division title at around 1am EDT Sat. after watching a very long game between the Yankees and the Bosox. Yankees blew out Boston 19-8 to give the Rays that title!! YEA!!! That’s it for sports news for now!
BTW, how did the newest article get on there TWICE?? Love to know how that happened! A very good article, tho. Gonna read it thru again.
Well, gotta go. Will check back later.
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
Moderator’s note: The double posting was due to a server error.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Love the new Panda Cam site. Great shot of the sleeping little diva this morning.
Glad to hear that the cleanup went successfully and that Su Lin still has some of her brother’s favorite places to climb and explore. I often wonder if she remembers communicating with him high up in the trees. It won’t be long before she and little sister can do the same, especially on rainy nights when no humans are around to stop and evesdrop. I can imagine that their rainy night escapades, especially Sheng, would have taken its toll on older fragile tall trees.
” Rocky/Bright Future” is sure growing fast. It is amazing how quickly panda cubs grow once they get past the second week. Once they have fur and can regulate their own body temperature, they seem to start that path toward independence. I can recall how ZZ started wiggling and squirming then. I have to look back and see when Bai Yun started her puzzling moonlight strolls with cub in tow. As I recall it was between 2-3 months, when ZZ was still fairly small. I think it was before the 100 day milestone.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Mum and daughter are having a mid-morning bamboo snack together. Looks so cute. I just had to send myself loads of postcards!
Lun Lun’s little one is looking really good.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I to want to say how must I also enjoy your new web pages and how clear the webcam is. As I went to the cam this early afternoon there was Bai Yun and Z Z sharing some bamboo what a mother daughter moment.
Yes little cubbie in AZ is now over 2 pounds and looking like a mini panda what a cutie.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Mary Lou (#25 & 26),
There is also a link to the panda blog on the new page on the right side of the screen. You have to scroll down a little bit. It is under the ShopZoo link. Also, if you ” point” at the word ” education” on the menu bar across the top of the screen, it will give you the option to select ” zoo blogs” which contains all the blogs on the zoo website and not just the panda blogs. Hope that helps.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Really love the new design of the Panda Web Page. Very user friendly. Makes it better for watching our beautiful pandas. Thanks for doing all you can to accomodate all the Pandaholics.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Thank you Suzanne for the panda coverage. It’s always fun to read anything about the pandas and their home arrangements.
I love the new pandacam page. It’s prettier, and the materials are well organized.
ps. the Atlanta prince is growing, getting cuter each day.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Wow, what a beautiful new Panda Web Page! It is done very professionally and easy to find everything. Thank you so much! I am thrilled as much as all the other pandaholics. Wish I could spend more time with the pandas.
Lun Lun’s baby is truly a chubby and awfully cute little chap. (But are not all panda babies gorgeous?) I guess we are all very relieved that he has been developping so well after a very frightening start. Suzanne, thank you for an entertaining story about the pandas. I guess it is good to be back to ” Business as usual’.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Thanks for the update. I love to hear anything and everything about our panda family.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new site design!
And Ms. ZZ has been is the funniest little thing. Over the last few days, I have sent numerous postcards to friends. Geez, if only they had been video postcards………just kidding, but the stills don’t show how completely funny she is.
Thanks again for everything you do for us and the pandas!
September 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Congratulations on the new panda page! I love that shade of soft leafy green, I guess the pandas love it too – very bamboo-like indeed. A big thank you for the wonderful photo gallery too!
September 29th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Miss Zhen Zhen has gotten really acrobatic and creative as she tries to sneak up on Bai sleeping on top of the den–or at least tries to land on her gently. I’ve seen her hanging from branches more than ever before and seeming almost to dangle from one foot sometimes. And the way she was standing up on a branch near Bai today really made her look as if she has entered a new phase of awareness–or maybe it just made a great picture. In any case, as always, a joy.
Su Lin did a little more cleanup of her own over the weekend. She was playing with part of a cardboard box, which she tossed off the terraced ground she was standing on, as if to say, ” I’m done with this, now take it away!”
Looks like the growing boy in Atlanta has made up ground and is on his way to being a robust little thing. What a relief!
September 30th, 2008 at 3:20 am
Thank you so much Suzanne for the updates. I have been waiting to know what is going on with Bai Yun, Zhen Zhen, Gao Gao and Su Lin. I watch them on the webcam everyday still. Watching them doesn’t mean I will know what is going on with their lives. I love how ZZ loves to sleeps on the tree and how Su lin is learning to eat the hard bamboos. She is still not as skillful as her parents, I see.
Yes, I’m watching Lun Lun’s cub closely as well.
Please write updates about these lovely pandas more often if possible!
Thank you so very much for all your work and energy!!
September 30th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Just talked to a friend who recently returned from Bifengxia. Hua Mei was bred but is not pregnant. Both she and Mei Sheng are doing well and looked gorgeous on the photos.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I would love to see a current picture of Mei Sheng. If anyone could post one on Flickr, that would be great.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Rita #41 – To view some current photos of our sweet Mei Sheng, who now resides in Bifengxia, just goggle ( meisheng@bifengxia – a set on Flickr )
In the list of links click on ( meisheng@bifengxia on Flickr – photo sharing ) On the right side of the page under MeiSheng@China , click on Browse. You will find 46 thumbnail photos. Click on each one for info. The 41st photo is taken on Mei Sheng’s 5th birthday in August. He looks happy. Good luck.