If You Blink…
Posted at 8:35 am October 7, 2008 by Ellie Rosenbaum….the pandas may have moved around, but not to worry! The keepers have been doing the every-two-week (more or less) rotation of Su Lin and Gao Gao into the right-hand viewing area. This has been done with some of the pandas here at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station in the past, depending on the bears and the season, even way back when Shi Shi was in residence.
There are many good reasons for doing this. Each time a panda moves into an area previoiusly occupied by another panda, there’s lots of investigatory behavior, increasing the mental and physical activity of the animal. Pandas are very olfactory animals. Their keen sense of smell allows them to communicate identity to one another while maintaining enough space between themselves for an adequate bamboo supply. To move into the off-exhibit area provides a quieter break from the noise of the roadway; to move out after a few quiet weeks provides much more stimulation. And all of us get to visit with each of our favorite pandas more often. If your special bear is off exhibit, he or she will probably be out again an a week or two.
So stay alert – one day they’re in, and the next day they’re…. well, you know. It’s going to be an interesting autumn.
Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Thanks for the update. I do miss (ok, you had us all spoiled) the update on the Panda Cam page telling us who was on which cam. The information is still there, but didn’t get updated when papa Gao Gao moved back to the front. I do recognize him tho, between his ear and his cute nose!
October 7th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I can’t wait to see who will be out and about when I visit (from the east coast) SDZ in early January.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hey, you all! Checked the AZ pandacam at 3pm EDT, and it is now back online showing Lun and her cub napping! YEA!!!! Thanks to the AZ tech people for their hard work!
Also read your new article about the changing of the pandas and swapping their exhibits every 2 weeks. It’s kind of cute for you all to watch all of this, and see how the pandas react to new sights and smells. Hopefully, the cam numbers will show the changes.
Gotta go and get my laundry out of the dryers. Will check back later on!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
October 7th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hooray the camera back on in AZ and cubbie doing just fine. I just want to pick him up and kiss him all over. I noticed that all the pandas in all our zoos are taking their afternoon naps sure sounds like a good idea. Everyone at my home has the same thought all 4 kitties. I have one all white kitty who I thought of painting some black on her and pretend she my panda. LOL only kidding
October 7th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Moderator–can you tell me what I’m seeing outside of the entrance to the ” bedroom” area on C2? It looks like smoke.
Moderator’s note: It’s probably mist from the misters in the exhibit, as it is quite warm in San Diego today.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Thanks, Moderator.
October 7th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
And thanks for updating the ‘panda cam/numbers’! Gao Gao deserves credit when he’s front and center.
I saw the mister today also – it almost looked like a super fast moving panda in a haze… black and white areas! BUT…. it was the Gao Gao cam and I’ve NEVER seen him move that fast so I figured maybe he was sitting IN the mist and giving it the dark/light look. I wish I’d been there with him!
October 7th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Just watching Gao Gao eating his boo. He is so cute! That Gao Gao just steals your heart.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I know that SDZ has room for a total of 6 pandas. If there were more pandas, (someday), would the alternating still take place? I imagine it would. There would just be more input for the olfactories! Thank you for the blogs panda fans!
October 7th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
it doesn’t matter who is on display as they are all interesting. gao gao seems to eat and sleep more; or is that my imagination? it’s funny watching this eating machine devour so much boo without ever seemingly to fill that empty void in his stomach. he seems very happy and content to just sit in the middle of a pile of boo and eat to his heart’s content. I love it! su lin is fun to watch as she is still a youngster and full of antics yet. a funny and beautiful girl content in her surroundings wherever she may be. that’s why it’s nice to switch the viewing areas for the pandas. that way we get to see everyone and what they are up to. the other two, bai and zz are a hoot to watch sometimes. zz is so full of the dickens and such a baby yet!
bai is such a patient mother and a delight to watch with her little daughter who can sometimes be a big pest!!!!!! they grow too darn fast and then we are hungry for another baby. ( just like some people. ha ha)
keep up the great info. and cams. we really do apprec iate all the trouble you go to for our sake. we just can’t seem to get enough of our beloved pandas. thanks again!
October 8th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I do think that we are learning to identify our pandas by looking at them and seeing their behaviors but it can be confusing with Su Lin and Gao Gao. I was wondering if they recognize each other by scent even though they are never together? Or is it just as if some other panda has been in their territory while they were gone?
October 8th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Whoever is in whatever pen, they are all such a joy to watch, whether playfully running & rolling through the cam view, or sleeping, or chowing down on the boo. It is wonderful that we all have this opportunity to experience this realm of entertainment. Tonight, we’re getting to enjoy a bout of mother/daughter wrestling. Mother is mostly just putting her head down and letting Miss Precious have her way. But sometimes Mom puts her big paw on ZZ’s head, and gently pushes her back, then goes after her, while she’s down. Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, Chubby Cubbie is making crop circles in the straw, with his powerful, tiny back legs pushing him in circles. My goodness, he is growing so fast, almost visibly.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:10 am
to whom it may concern,
I have a kindle (electronic book) I bought at Amazon.com Can you please I beg you please put your blogs at amazon.com so all SDZ blogs can automatically dl to my kindle. I love reading your blogs. So can SDZ look into that. Atleast think about it. Thank you for your time.
Moderator’s note: This is something we will look into. Thank you!
October 9th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Looks like Gao is back in the off exhibit area..?
Moderator’s note: Right you are, Kris. We’ll update the Panda Cam page.
October 9th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Pandas are such playful and comical creatures when they decide to do something other than eat or sleep. I am glad I got a chance to see a very playful Mei Lan this afternoon. I guess little cubby was sleeping or being weighed so the took a few minutes to catch the mischievious Mei having a battle with her hammock and a stalk of bamboo. What a hoot!
I think ZZ is going to be very much like Mei Lan when she is on her own. They are both very independent minded, as is Tai Shan.
They are all beautiful animals and blessed to have such loving care from fantastic momma pandas and their human caretakers.
October 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I have a question – are the pandas kept ” alone” all the time, other than for mating? It just seems so lonely, especially when they are in a playful mood, and have no one else to play with! In the wild, is this the norm for them as well? I was just watching one in the Atlanta Zoo having a good old time, but all alone and it saddened me. I am just curious.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I was wondering why the other panda cams do not have the access to take pictures of the pandas, from a live perspective. I love taking pictures of Bai Yun, Zhen Zhen ,Sui Lin, & Gao Gao
Thanks marlene
October 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Marlene #17, I agree. I so wanted to take the most gorgeous picture of Lun Lun’s little one yesterday. What I would like to know is, would it be possible for the Polar Bear cam to have a ’send a postcard’ facility? I actually went for the ’send button’ the other day and then realised I couldn’t!
Moderator’s note: We’ll look into the possibility of adding a ” postcard” option. Thank you for the suggestion.
October 10th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Susan #18 – I also agree with you and Marlene #17 – The Polar Bear cam definitively needs a postcard feature. So many times there are wonderful close-ups of the magnificent bears that would make an excellent postcard.
Also, what about a postcard feature on every cam? I would like to send an elephant postcard on occasion. Especially when there are close-ups of the babies with their moms
Thank you Moderator for checking on this postcard option.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Thank you moderator for listening to all the comments about other postcard options
There is such a fuzzy warm feeling you get from animals. I wish I could watch them all day:)
Thank you Susan#18and Rose#19 for your comments:)
Have agood weekend everybody
October 11th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
# 16 – Rhoda in IN – According to what I’ve read Giant Pandas are solitary animals in the wild. The NZ now has Mei Xiang & Tian Tian playing together (& they sure do have fun) – from what I can see at Memphis their pandas also play together. From what I read Bai Yun has no interest in Gao other than mating season so as SDZ has the best track record for panda cubbies-it’s another thing we can’t figure out
October 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Maureen #21 – thanks for the feedback. I guess that’s how they are then. I was watching Mei Lun at the Atlanta Zoo yesterday and she was having a blast with a ball so I guess they prefer it that way. Just looking at Gao he’s all dirty on the top of his head today – wonder what he’s been getting in to!!!! Have a good day and thanks again.