For those of you who have actually seen the pandas in person when they first start to climb, you know how they can take some trees without difficulty, and some are a little more challenging. Each cub born at the San Diego Zoo has gone through ups and downs when it comes to climbing trees, literally. A cub’s first teacher is, of course, Mom, and here we have Bai Yun. There is a reason her name translates to “white cloud”: she is an excellent climber, and as a young cub she would spend most of her time up the trees.
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There was pandamonium at the San Diego Zoo as we prepared to finally reveal our 104-day-old giant panda cub’s name. For days people kept asking, “So what is his name?” Being one of a handful of people who knew the name at the close of the voting period, I simply smiled and said “You’ll have to wait until the naming ceremony.” I admit, it was a bit of a smug smile. You know the one…the one you can’t hold back when you have a secret that everyone wants to know.
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The excitement is mounting here at the San Diego Zoo as we await our panda cub’s naming day. The naming ceremony will be held at the Zoo on Tuesday, November 17, at 11 a.m. in our Hunte Amphitheater, located just north of the Giant Panda Research Station and across from Big Cat Trail. Special guests will be introduced and remarks from the co-head of the Zoo’s Panda Team and our board president will be made before the name is at last revealed. Please remember: the cub will not be at the ceremony, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy the video clip of the proceedings that will be made available on our Web site later that day!
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Last week we held an online chat between two of our panda keepers and panda fans worldwide. For an added element of fun, we called it a Panda Cub “Shower” and invited those with Facebook accounts to send in their best wishes to panda mother and cub and ask our keepers questions. Those who didn’t have Facebook could still follow the chat on the special Panda Cub Shower Web page of our Web site. And in the tradition of a baby shower, we had a Wish List available for those who wanted to offer a “gift” to our panda family. Panda fans proved themselves to be a generous lot; all of the items on the Wish List were purchased. A giant panda thank you to all!
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I lived for more than 10 years without a pet until I got my cat, Austin, two years ago. All of my “cat lady” tendencies that were dormant for all those years resurfaced. I’ll tell you stories about Austin like parents talk about their human children.

But now I can tell you stories about a panda, as if he were my own. Sure, I didn’t get to hold him or touch him, or even get close enough for his eyes to focus on me. But sitting in on the 11th exam of our panda cub was a great experience!
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In my blog post about my time as a keeper (see Pandas: From Both Sides), I had mentioned that Zhen Zhen exhibited some behaviors that were very similar to her father, Gao Gao, and she’s still surprising me. Typical behaviors that I’ve seen are mainly shown right around when she’s about to be fed: when the keepers call her to come inside, she won’t come right in; most of the time she’ll do another lap around her enclosure and then make her way into her bedroom. And then there are her eating habits: she’ll move bamboo far away from where it is put down, and once she’s comfortable she won’t move for anyone.
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Some of you have been asking about the panda cub’s vocalizations. You have wondered if he is loud, protesting mother’s grooming or nibbling activities. Some of you have expressed concern about the fact that Bai Yun is so frequently – and so long – away from the den these days. In fact, Bai Yun’s den departures and the cub’s vocal pattern are interrelated. Let me explain…
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This guy, he’s a heartbreaker. Oh yeah, you know I’m talking about the San Diego Zoo’s 13-week-old giant panda cub.

Today was the first time I got to see the furry ball of fluff. I was in the exam room as a Zoo PR rep writing today’s press release on the exam. I thought I was ready for it. Just like you, I’ve seen the videos. Studied the photos of him exam after exam.
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As we are starting to get some cooler weather, there is a definite change in our pandas’ behavior and eating habits. In China, these bears would be dealing with much colder weather than we have here in San Diego, and in the winter they would even have snow. Giant pandas are found in elevations of 4,000 to 11,000 feet (1,200 to 3,300 meters), so they would feel that weather change there much more than here at our Zoo! Pandas, unlike most bears, don’t hibernate. Having a good fat layer and a 3-inch-thick (8-centimeter-thick) fur coat helps keep them warm and dry. Even when it rains, only that top layer of fur gets wet, and if you were to examine the fur closer to their skin you’d find it nice and dry.
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For a few years now, I have been a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station and have enjoyed watching pandas go through different stages in life as well as their day-to-day changes. I have always admired our keepers and researchers at the Zoo for what they do for our animals here and what they do for the conservation community. Our keepers must do cleaning and feeding on a schedule as well as be incredibly observant of their animals and noticing changes in behavior. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of that and learn valuable lessons from our Panda Team.
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