Confused?

Well, we warned you that things would be interesting down here in Pandaland over these few weeks. Those of you who think you saw Gao and Bai back in the main exhibit late in our San Diego days on Monday and Tuesday were, in fact, correct: they’ve been moved back to their old stompin’ grounds. But don’t get accustomed to it as we take things day by day, so keep alert and be prepared for anything.
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As Suzanne previously posted, pandas were moved around yesterday (March 16) to facilitate the demolition and installation of the new bamboo cooler. And as she predicted, Bai and Gao were just fine with it. The girls, Zhen Zhen and Su Lin, were kept inside with all the building’s exterior doors closed to minimize the noise of the jackhammers, and it did make a huge difference. I checked on their location with the keepers (we’re all a little protective of our black-and-white bears) and, after the initial noise, they were doing just fine. Having the keepers there to schmooze with them is also a plus for those social young gals.
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I have to admit, when I first started working at the San Diego Zoo, I often wondered why there was a single African elephant living with two Asian elephants. I really couldn’t say there was anything wrong with it, so much as it seemed to go against my innate human desire to have like with like. I suppose it goes back to my childhood and watching television. You might remember the song from Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the other…”
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Meet our new silver-leaf langurs! Aden, our resident male, is brave, outgoing, and adventurous. He lives with four females: Tevy, LiLi, Adamena, and Zoe. Tevy and LiLi are mature and attentive to the younger langurs; Adamena learns a lot from Tevy and LiLi; Zoe is our youngest and smallest, timid yet curious.
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We will be putting you to the test over the next few weeks. Our pandas will be moving about the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station every few days, and which bear is on which camera will change each time they move. It’s unlikely our intrepid moderator will be able to keep up with all of the rapid changes, so you will have to use your panda identification skills to help figure out which of our black-and-white bears you are currently seeing on the Panda Cam.
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As I was heading home from work the other day, it occurred to me that my average day is anything but average. Maybe that’s why I love this job so much! (Read Rick’s previous blog, Where’s that Elephant Odyssey Ambassador?)

During a meeting today at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, I walked in elephant footprints as I traversed the Asian elephant exhibit. Navigating the terrain, mud and grass weren’t the only natural obstacles, if you know what I mean. There is a certain primordial feel one gets when walking in the footsteps of such magnificent animals.
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Installment #5
Read Installment #4: Little Guenon, Big Sister

Things continued to go well for Gigi. The relationship between Gigi and her sister, Mimi, was consistently positive, as was her relationship with brother Dru. Most of the time, mom Fifi was patient with and even affectionate toward Gigi. However, we occasionally saw Fifi separate the two girls when they played with each other or sat together, encouraging Mimi to nurse from her briefly. Sometimes, Fifi would carry Mimi away from Gigi. It seemed as if Fifi was unsure about this new relationship that took up so much of her older daughter’s time. Even though we didn’t always understand the dynamics of what was going on with the new family, the Wolf’s guenons did and were working things out among themselves.
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Our littlest sun bears, a male and female cub, are now more than four months old and are growing like weeds. (Read Suzanne’s previous blog, Sun Bear Cubs: Snips, Snails, Sugar, and Spice.) They have made incredible strides in motor development. Now they can climb the bars of their bedroom abode, hang from the ceiling with two paws while gnawing on things sticking out of their climbing structures, like the supports for their hammock. They drink from mother Marcella’s water source, eat her kibble and veggies (though slowly), and sleep the days away tucked together in that hammock while mom goes about her business below.
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At the San Diego Zoo, 11-year-old lowland gorilla female Azizi was trying hard to care for her firstborn baby. Frank, a healthy male, was born September 4, 2008. Azizi, who was hand reared, was cradling the infant and keeping him close to her body to provide warmth. Though Frank weighed in at a whopping 2.46 kilograms (almost 5½ pounds, big for a newborn gorilla), he still had not been observed nursing by the second day of life. Animal care staff intervened to assess the situation. Frank’s blood glucose was low, as was his body temperature. After correcting for these conditions, we returned him to his mother, but Azizi refused to pick him up. Clearly we had to take over for Azizi, at least temporarily, but we were determined to only help Azizi with Frank while promoting and preserving their early bond. We were careful to never separate the two as we cared for Frank. (See blog, Gorilla Born at the San Diego Zoo.)
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Some sounds soothe. Some sounds annoy. And some sounds stimulate sexual behavior, like in cheetahs. And we have a new baby cheetah as a result of our conservation bioacoustics program.
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