I am happy to say that the day we thought might never arrive has come: elephants Tina and Jewel are cleared from quarantine. No more sanitizing mats, changing our clothes, and washing our hands every few minutes. YEAH! However, don’t expect to see them out right away; the process of introducing them to the rest of the San Diego Zoo’s herd at Elephant Odyssey will take some time. (See post, Elephants Tina and Jewel: Training Progress)
(more…)

As fall has come, so has quiet to the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge. The management yard is being well used by Chinook. She certainly has her routine down: greet Tatqiq and Kalluk over the moat, find treats, eat treats, dip in pool, roll in dirt, completely cover entire body except for the white fur around eyes, go inside and see what my keeper is up to. Oh, too bad the nice clean bedrooms are now covered with muddy paw prints! Chinook really has perfected the art of the dirt roll! Still no confirmation of pregnancy, but also no behavioral change to indicate she is not pregnant. Our fingers are still tightly crossed.
(more…)

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!
(more…)

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.
(more…)

The San Diego Zoo’s polar bear Chinook is keeping us all on the edge of our seats. As we move deeper into November, we are yet to see any definitive behavioral or physiological changes that would tell us that Chinook is pregnant…or that she’s not pregnant! With each passing day, we continue to document what she’s doing and how she’s doing it. Chinook’s den is ready, and we are listening to her and providing her with whatever she needs.
(more…)

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…
(more…)

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.
(more…)

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.
(more…)

We got a very special surprise today at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center (DTCC). One of our hard-working volunteers, Jim Brinson, was digging up an empty tortoise burrow to sterilize it and get it ready for a newly arriving tortoise when he came across a nest of eggs. Seeing the darkened color of the eggs and knowing that it is too late in the season for the eggs to hatch, he knew that the eggs were not viable (no tortoise babies in the eggs). This happens in nature from time to time. He put the eggs to the side and continued his task of digging in the dirt and sterilizing the burrow. But suddenly, as he was moving the dirt from the location of the burrow to the area beside it, he saw a small object covered in dirt fall from the shovel. He reached down to pick it up and saw that it was a fully formed hatchling!
(more…)

The Backstage Pass program at the San Diego Zoo has added a new member to its star-studded cast. As far as leading men go, this critter is not one of the typical ones you might think of when you hear that title. Instead, he would be along the lines of a Danny Devito or Joe Pecsi. He’s the punky little street fighter type: a North American badger!
(more…)