Conservation at the Zoo

Conservation at the Zoo

9

The Bears Thank You

By
Suzanne Hall
– May 17, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas, Projects in the Field, Uncategorized

Enrichment toys are vital for a recovering sun bear's health. Photo courtesy of BSBCC

Several months ago, we put out a call via our Animal Care Wish List asking for donations to provide enrichment items for the sun bears housed with our new collaborative partner, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). You responded generously, and I am pleased to say we were able to send six new toys to the bears at the BSBCC. Thank you so much for your generosity!

The sun bear is a rare bear whose habitat is dwindling rapidly under pressure from deforestation. Primary causes of forest loss include illegal timber extraction and the development of palm oil plantations. Very few studies of wild sun bears have been conducted, and a population census of this species, or the Bornean subspecies, has never been conducted. However, their numbers must surely be on the decline as their habitat steadily shrinks.

One of my objectives is to find more opportunities to conduct research with sun bears, to learn more about them and facilitate conservation of this species. We have had the opportunity to observe the growth and development of four sun bear cubs born to our resident female, Marcella, but a larger sample size of animals was needed to conduct any statistically meaningful research into various aspects of their biology. Enter the BSBCC.

Siew Te Wong founded the BSBCC in Sabah, Borneo, to serve as a rescue and rehabilitation facility for orphaned and injured sun bears. “Wong,” as he is called, had conducted field work on these animals but recognized the need to provide care for bears impacted by forest loss and the illegal pet trade. In only 4 years of operation, the BSBCC has accumulated more than 20 sun bears. Some are destined for Wong’s developing reintroduction program, which will see them repatriated to the wild in time. Others are not good candidates for release and will likely live out their years at the BSBCC.

Thankfully, the BSBCC goes the extra mile to ensure a good home for its sun bears. It has several large outdoor pens that are essentially areas of enclosed natural habitat: giant trees, heavy canopy, soft forest soil, and a multitude of plants and bugs for the bears to enjoy. The enclosures are so natural that wild monkeys and birds often cruise in and perch in the canopy of their trees. The bears are carefully managed so that agreeable animals can be housed together as playmates when possible. Even so, there are so many of these animals that on any given day a few of the bears will be rotated inside so others can enjoy the outside spaces.

The BSBCC likes to provide enrichment for their indoor animals to ensure that their environment remains as stimulating as possible. And that’s where you come in. Your donations helped to aid in maintaining a quality of life for these bears that ensures their physical and emotional well-being. The photos here demonstrate that the bears are enjoying the toys immensely!

We are excited about developing our partnership with the BSBCC into a research opportunity. This will aid in the conservation of the smallest bear on Earth and could lend insight into the bear family tree. We know from our past work, for example, that sun bear mothers and panda mothers are very similar in their attentive maternal-care styles, and both pandas and sun bears differ from the less active hibernating bears like brown and black bears. What other similarities and differences between the bear species will we find?

Your gifts of enrichment were the first step in what I hope will be a long and informative road that leads to new discoveries about sun bears. Thank you again.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Monday: Black, White, and the Blues.

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5

Jaguar Cubs at Last!

By
Jacob Shanks
– May 17, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Cats, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Welcome, little jaguars!

About one year ago I wrote a blog post titled Jaguars: The Next Step. We had just recently introduced the San Diego Zoo’s jaguars with the hope of producing some much-needed cubs. As it turns out, the next step was the first step in a rollercoaster year that included hundreds of hours of behavioral observation, collection of more fecal samples than I care to remember, lots of amazing moments between the cats, and the heartbreak of an unsuccessful litter born in October.

Hold still! Each cub received a quick exam, including a weigh-in.

Over the course of the year we compiled a huge amount of jaguar data, some of which will be shared with other zoos all over the world to improve zoo-based breeding of this endangered cat. We saw our young, small Nindiri grow into an adult female, trading in some of her playful ways for more mature endeavors. We saw Guapo grow into a more confident animal as he figured out just how to get along with our always-spicy Nindiri. It was a year of many firsts for our jaguar friends and their keepers. We also achieved another milestone, something that we haven’t seen in San Diego for more than 20 years.

I have the privilege of announcing that a year’s worth of hard work, patience, and a major cooperative effort by people and jaguar has paid off. On April 26, Nindiri gave birth to two healthy, thriving little cubs, the first surviving jaguar cubs born at the San Diego Zoo since 1989. She quickly proved that she really has what it takes to be a great mother. Nindiri has been extremely attentive, opting to stay in her den box with her cubs nearly 24 hours a day. The few minutes away that she does take involve grabbing a few mouthfuls of food, a quick drink of water, and then back to her duties as mother.

There are some well-deserved privileges to being a jaguar keeper!

Our first official exam took place on their fourth day of life and involved getting a weight and a very quick all-over check by one of our vets. Much to my surprise, their eyes were already open. I hadn’t expected this to happen until they were at least a week old. Both cubs passed their quick exam with flying colors. The exam also gave us an early glimpse into personality. The first cub examined displayed some Nindiri-like attitude, hissing at me as I gently picked it up—a girl! The second cub, a boy, was quiet throughout the exam and seemed much less bothered by our imposition. Cleary cub #2 got his personality from Dad.

In the coming weeks will come the eating of solid foods, learning about our visitors, swimming lessons, figuring out how to get up into trees and—more importantly—just how to get down, and many, many other lessons that a jaguar cub must learn. Nindiri’s duties will continue to change throughout their many stages of life, and she has much to teach. It turns out that with these new cubs we are embarking on a new Next Step. A step toward a new, more maternal Nindiri. A step toward the next generation of jaguars. A step toward the conservation of this amazing species and ultimately a brighter future for the breeding of jaguars in our much-needed breeding programs. This next year will be another year of firsts, and I hope that you will share it with us.

Our new little residents will be off exhibit for a while, but look for them in Elephant Odyssey in the not-too-distant future.

Jacob Shanks is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Zoo Conference: AZA.

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0

The Last Ones?

By
Allan Pessier
– May 15, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Projects in the Field, Reptiles and Amphibians, Uncategorized

Panamanian golden frog

If you sat next to me on the plane traveling home from Panama this past February, you probably thought that my tote bag was full of souvenirs from a grand, tropical vacation. Instead, I was carrying the carefully preserved and packaged bodies of endangered frogs from captive survival-assurance populations. This was a trip that required months of careful planning and lots of red tape in obtaining and using the complicated permits needed to transport wildlife samples. Far from being morbid, icky, or gross, these specimens were extremely valuable for scientific efforts to save amphibian species from extinction. So why would anyone willingly travel with dead frogs?

Does Allan's yellow tote bag hold hope for amphibian species?

To explain, I should tell you that I’m a veterinarian who specializes in pathology. Therefore, my day-to-day responsibilities are focused on using laboratory techniques, including necropsies (animal autopsies), to accurately diagnose disease in animals at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as well as our field conservation programs. Through these activities, our Wildlife Disease Laboratories have a mission to remove disease as a roadblock to wildlife conservation. By bringing these deceased frogs to our laboratory and sleuthing out their parasites and disease problems, we hope to make useful recommendations that can help improve things like animal diets or aid veterinarians in selecting the very best treatments. Ultimately, this helps to ensure that the captive populations can be sustained and thrive until they can someday return to the wild.

Promoting the success of amphibian survival assurance populations is no trivial matter: more than one third of the world’s approximately 6,000 amphibian species are in decline because of introduced disease, loss of habitat, environmental change, and human exploitation. Although sometimes I get wrapped up in dry scientific and technical details, this group of frogs from Panama now in my bag really reminded me of why I do what I do.

Allan holds some of the carefully preserved frog specimens for study.

Among these specimens were species like the Panamanian golden frog, which soon may survive only in captive survival assurance populations, and the fringe-limbed tree frog, for which only a single individual is still known to exist. It is difficult to describe the feeling of holding what may be the last individuals of an entire species in your hand, but I can tell you that it hit hard for me, and I know that it is worse for friends and colleagues on the front lines of the amphibian decline who don’t have the luxury of retreating into the laboratory.

I am privileged to work for a unique organization that recognizes the importance of what might seem like an unusual scholarly activity. Collaborating with colleagues nationally and internationally really makes amphibian conservation happen! I also have the support of an amazing team in the Wildlife Disease Laboratories who will move mountains if they think it will help animals in need.

If you’d like to know more about the amphibian extinction crisis and what you can do to help, please visit the Amphibian Ark® online at www.amphibianark.org. Some of the most important actions for saving amphibian species, like protecting the environment and raising awareness of the plight of animals, can happen from within our homes.

Allan Pessier is a senior scientist for the Wildlife Disease Laboratories, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

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3

Found: Strange Things in Animal Exhibits

By
Bruce Rideout
– May 14, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Apes and Monkeys, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

A lion-tailed macaque

One of the fun things about working in a zoo is that each day brings something new and different; we never know what we will be working on from one day to the next. Most of our work in the Wildlife Disease Laboratories, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, involves examining animal tissues and fluids for disease surveillance, diagnostics, and research designed to improve the health and well-being of the animals in our care. But every once in a while we have to solve a mystery about strange things found in our animal exhibits. Animal keepers are very vigilant in monitoring their animals and exhibit environments. If some unidentified thing found in an exhibit might be an indication of a disease problem in an animal, or a health threat to an animal, it is our job to identify the object and determine its significance.

This is what a normal primate placenta looks like under the microscope.

Some time ago we had a five-year-old, pregnant lion-tailed macaque at the Zoo that had been a good mother to her previous two offspring; this time she delivered an infant that was found cold and weak shortly after birth. The veterinarians were concerned that this might be evidence of an infection in the baby, and possibly the mother as well. One of the best ways to diagnose a neonatal infection is to examine the placenta, so the keeper wisely set about scouring the enclosure and eventually found something that was the right color and consistency to be a piece of placenta. It was submitted to us for an urgent examination. We quickly processed it for microscopic examination and began our investigation.

The mystery tissue under the microscope.

Although the sample looked like a piece of placenta to the naked eye, it didn’t look anything like a placenta under the microscope (see photo at right). If it wasn’t a placenta, what was it?

The first thing to notice is the presence of thin pink outlines surrounding clear spaces. Within these clear spaces are translucent objects with dark centers.

When we see strange translucent structures like this, one quick evaluation tool we often turn to is examination under polarized light. Some objects transmit polarized light while others block it, which gives us information about the structural nature of the material.

The mystery tissue polarized

This photo at left shows the translucent structures illuminated with polarized light. You can see they glow pink and blue. This helps me confirm my suspicion: this is not a piece of placenta but a piece of sweet potato! The thin, pink outlines are the plant cell walls and the small translucent objects are starch granules (the things that make sweet potatoes rich in carbohydrates). Sweet potatoes are a normal part of the diet of these animals, so this sample represented a small piece of food that had been lost in the exhibit and had become desiccated just enough to make it difficult to identify.

In the end, no placenta was ever found, but the story had a happy ending, as the infant quickly recovered and was successfully reared by his mother. Although our investigation in this case took an unexpected turn and ended up not being as useful as we had hoped in guiding the immediate treatment of the infant, in other cases it does. Stay tuned for our next installment, when we reveal how you can tell whether something that looks like vomit really is. Until then, I can’t wait to see what diagnostic challenges we’ll face tomorrow.

Bruce Rideout is the director of the Wildlife Disease Laboratories, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

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1

Condor Chick: Lonely?

By
Ron Webb
– May 14, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Birds, California Condors, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Saticoy continues to grow and thrive!

Some of our Condor Cam viewers have been worried that our growing chick, Saticoy, looks lonely and/or bored. California condors naturally have a one-egg clutch; in other words, there is never more than one chick in a nest. Although Saticoy may appear lonely to us, we need to keep in mind that his social requirements are much different from ours. Of course a human would be lonely being raised in isolation, but condors thrive in that situation: no competition from nest mates, ensuring plenty of food for growth; plenty of attention and preening and protection from both parents, facilitating the proper social skills for when it’s time to leave the nest; and reducing the amount of waste that can accumulate in a nest, reducing the possibilities for a parasite infestation.

Condor parents Sisquoc and Shatash visit Saticoy several times a day for feeding and social interaction, giving their youngster everything that he needs. If he was in distress, it would manifest in improper growth and unusual behaviors. Rest assured that he is in perfect health and showing excellent behaviors for a potential release candidate at this age, indicating to us that Sisquoc and Shatash are doing a textbook job!

As for giving him “toys” or enrichment items, the parents have provided several items in the nest for Saticoy to explore or play with: feathers, dried food items, bones, and cast hair pellets. We have seen Saticoy (as well as every other condor raised at the Safari Park) play with, sleep on, and re-distribute these items around the nest. Field observations have shown that condor chicks in wild nests in California, Arizona, and Mexico behave in the exact same manner. We don’t want to provide any unnaturally occurring items in the nest as playthings, as this would encourage him to seek out similar items if he is released to the wild, possibly putting him in harm’s way.

Please remember that we are trying to foster behaviors that wild condors would have: avoiding human activity and hazardous, artificial situations. Survival rates for condors that become accustomed to humans and human activity are very low. I hope you continue to enjoy watching Saticoy grow!

Ron Webb is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Read his previous post, Condor Chick: First Health Exam.

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3

Boy or Girl? Genetic Testing

By
Heidi Davis and Asako Yamamoto
– May 4, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Birds, California Condors, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Saticoy's PCR products in an agarose gel

On March 10, thousands of Condor Cam viewers watched as an endangered California condor chick emerged from its shell. The chick, named Saticoy by an online vote, is still being followed by thousands of people on Wildlife Conservancy’s Condor Cam. As viewers watched the downy chick grow, many wondered if they should call Saticoy “he” or “she.” That’s where the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research’s Genetics Division comes in.

California condors are sexually monomorphic, and it’s not possible to tell the male and female birds apart. It is important for management purposes, however, to know early on the gender of a newly hatched condor. Initially, determination of bird gender involved a highly invasive examination, but genetics techniques have allowed for less invasive sexing since the California condor recovery program began in the early 1980s, and with current methods, we can determine a condor’s sex using only a small drop of blood, a feather, or even a piece of eggshell membrane.

Our Genetics Division has genetically determined the sex of over 170 condors hatched at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, as well as all other condors hatched at collaborating institutions or in the wild. But we don’t stop there. In addition to condors, we determine the sex of several other bird species for San Diego Zoo Global collaborative recovery programs, including San Clemente loggerhead shrikes and four species of native Hawaiian birds. This important practice supports animal care managers and field biologists in their efforts to develop sustainable populations of endangered species.

The process of sexing Saticoy began when we received a small blood sample from the chick’s first health exam performed by veterinarians at the Safari Park (see post Condor Chick: First Health Exam). Only a single drop of blood (about 10 microliters) is needed to perform gender determination using genetic techniques. First, the DNA is extracted from the blood cells by placing the cells into a tube, exposing them to enzymes, and incubating them in a water bath to release the DNA contained within.

After several steps of removing contaminants and washing the sample, pure DNA is available for use in the next step, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). During PCR amplification, only a small amount of the DNA is required to obtain millions of copies of a particular DNA region of interest, which can then be used for further analyses. Birds have a sex-determination system like the XY system of humans, but in birds, the females are the heterogametic sex with chromosomes ZW, while the males are the homogametic sex with chromosomes ZZ. In the case of sexing condors, we amplify a gene that is found in both males and females and is able to show variation in sequence length between the two female sex chromosomes.

The final step is to run gel electrophoresis to analyze the PCR samples. Here, DNA separates within an agarose gel depending on the size of the DNA fragment produced by PCR. The gene amplified from a female’s W chromosome is longer and produces a different size fragment compared to the DNA fragment produced by the Z chromosome. The males, therefore, show only one band while females show two distinct bands in a gel. As the gel picture shows, Saticoy’s DNA sample produced one band by PCR, and we can then say…it’s a boy!

Heidi Davis is a research coordinator and Asako Yamamoto is a research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

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1

Counting Chromosomes

By
Suellen Charter
– May 2, 2012Posted in: Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Uncategorized

Lowland gorilla karyotype

On any given day, I never know what species I will be working with in the Genetics Laboratory of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Today it was a western lowland gorilla (48 chromosomes), an eastern red kangaroo (20 chromosomes), and a hooded pitta (too many micro-chromosomes to count, but we can confirm the species and gender).

Fibroblast cells

In 2011, we added 23 new species to our Frozen Zoo® fibroblast cell line collection: 13 birds, 4 reptiles, 5 mammals, and 1 amphibian. This is amazing, as we already have about 900 species/subspecies represented in the Frozen Zoo, so therefore it is difficult to get samples from species we do not already have represented. We also looked at the chromosomes and did karyotype case studies on 270 different individual animals this past year.

We start with a small skin biopsy (about the size of a pea), and from that we are usually able to establish a cell line. These cells are then frozen in liquid nitrogen (-321 degrees Fahrenheit or -196 degrees Celsius) and placed into boxes and racks that go into the freezers that are the Frozen Zoo. Every cell line in the Frozen Zoo is then checked for quality control by thawing one vial of cells. We see how well the cells recover from freezing and also harvest the cells in metaphase and look at the chromosomes.

Hooded pitta metaphase spread

Karyotyping is the best part of my day. It’s like doing a jigsaw or crossword puzzle: you never know how it’s going to work out or what your picture will look like, but when you finish the puzzle, it is really great! Chromosomes are lined up by shape and size, and then their karyotype, or genetic map, is compared to published karyotypes or ones that we have done previously on the same species. We can see any chromosomal abnormalities, and we can confirm the gender and species of the animal.

By the way, the hooded pitta was a female, and the eastern red kangaroo had an inversion in pair two.

Suellen Charter is a research coordinator for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

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2

Condor Chick: First Health Exam

By
Ron Webb
– May 1, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Birds, California Condors, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo

Saticoy at 45 days old

On April 23, California condor chick Saticoy received its first health exam. We normally conduct this exam at around 45 days of age. The goal was to obtain a blood sample for our labs, administer a vaccine for West Nile virus, inject a microchip for identification, and weigh Saticoy.

The first step in this process is to separate the parents from the chick. Of course, the parents (father Sisquoc and mother Shatash) don’t want any invaders in the nest and do their best to defend the chick and keep it safe, as all good parents do. Adjacent to the flight pen, we have a shift pen, used to safely and calmly move large or dangerous animals from one area to another. We offer all of the condors’ diet in the shift pen, so Sisquoc and Shatash are very comfortable entering it for every meal. We shifted Sisquoc into the pen and kept him there until after the exam. From his shift pen, he cannot see the nest area, so he was unaware that we were even in his nest, thus keeping him very calm. He ate and waited patiently until he had access back into his flight pen.

Shatash was not shifted but instead was able to see us go into her nest. We posted one keeper in the nest entryway to keep Shatash out while another keeper entered the nest and covered little Saticoy with a towel. This is the first time that Saticoy had ever seen a person and was understandably nervous and defensive, hissing and lunging at the intruder. Once under the cover of the towel, Saticoy calmed down. The chick was then brought into the adjoining vestibule where our veterinarian staff was waiting.

First, the veterinarian obtained a blood sample from Saticoy’s leg. This sample was sent to the lab to make sure the chick is healthy. Also, our geneticists can determine if Saticoy is male or female from this sample. Next, a vaccine for West Nile virus was administered. This disease originated in Africa and was accidently introduced to North America by humans. North American animals, including condors, usually don’t have a natural immune response to the virus, so we are trying to give all chicks a head start. A microchip was injected under Saticoy’s skin. This chip is a form of identification. It’s the same kind of chip you can get for your dog or cat at the veterinarian. The veterinarian then gave a quick health assessment, checking Saticoy’s eyes, nares (nostrils), beak, feet, legs, wings, and abdomen. Lastly, we weighed Saticoy to make sure the chick was growing on schedule.

While the exam took place, a third keeper was able to enter the nest to clean the camera domes and make sure there were no hazards in the nest cavity. The whole exam, from capture to release, took only seven minutes!

Once the exam was over, Saticoy was returned to the nest, and Shatash was allowed to approach and check on her chick. As previously mentioned, Saticoy was rightfully disturbed by this process, despite our best intentions to minimize stress. Although we feel bad that Saticoy was so nervous, it is actually good for the chick that it was not comfortable in our presence. We have to keep in mind that we don’t want Saticoy to become accustomed to or feel reassured by humans; we want the chick to be a wild condor, uninterested and wary of humans, so that it may someday fly free in California, Arizona, or Mexico. Condors that show an affinity for humans seldom survive in the wild. For several minutes, Saticoy showed defensive posture, hissing at everything, even Mother.

Shatash slowly approached her chick and nervously preened it, eventually soothing it. That is the reason we shifted only one parent; we wanted the other parent present to calm the chick after the exam. About 10 minutes later, Saticoy was showing proper begging behavior, resulting in a feeding session from Shatash. With everyone appearing calmer, Sisquoc was let out of his shift pen. Approximately 20 minutes after that, he also went in to feed Saticoy. If he was alerted to our presence and was upset, he would have immediately entered the nest to check on his chick.

So far, the health exam looks to have been extremely successful. The blood work showed that Saticoy is healthy, and the veterinarian’s initial inspection looked great. The chick’s eyes and nares were clear, the feet, legs, and wings were solid, and vitality was strong. Saticoy weighed 7.7 pounds (3.55 kilograms) and was approximately the size of a bowling ball. Lastly, today we received the sex results from the Genetics Lab: Saticoy is a boy!

Ron Webb is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Read Ron’s previous post, Condor Chick: 30 to 45 Days. Watch the chick daily on Condor Cam!

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4

Tecate Cypress: Risky Reproduction

By
Lauren Anderson
– April 26, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Plants, Projects in the Field, Uncategorized

Lauren and Sandra Mardonovich sow Tecate cypress seeds in long pots that provide spacious room for roots.

The Tecate cypress Hesperocyparis forbsiiis a tree found only in Southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. It has a limited range and is fire dependent, which means the cypress needs fire to reproduce. The cones of this species are serotinous, which means the seeds are released by an ecological trigger (in this case, fire) instead of being released once they reach maturity. When the cones are exposed to heat, the resin that keeps them sealed is melted, the cone opens, and the seed is released. Without fire, the Tecate cypress keeps its seed bank within persistent cones in the tree canopy. When a fire burns a mature stand of Tecate cypress, new seedlings pop up in its place. If this second generation is burned before it reaches maturity, it could wipe out the entire population. There are only four stable populations remaining in California, three of which are in San Diego County. It is because of its limited range and risky reproduction technique that this tree is such a sensitive species.

Tecate cypress cones collected from Otay Mountain await processing.

The Applied Plant Ecology Division at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research has partnered with the Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Department of Fish and Game to preserve this unique species. The goal of the project is to provide a safe guard against high-frequency fires wiping out the population.

To do this, we collected enough seed from a mature population to have a portion for safe keeping in the Native Plant Seed Bank at the Safari Park and a portion that could be germinated and planted as a nursery stand. Cones were collected from Otay Mountain and processed at the State of California’s Lewis A. Morgan Reforestation Center. The processed cones resulted in thousands of seeds, and of those, a fraction was planted. From the planted seeds, we are hoping to get 400 to 500 seedlings.

Here's a close-up view of the seeds before being covered with soil.

Once the seedlings have grown to a suitable size, they will be planted at the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. The planted cypress trees will be monitored over the next six months. These trees will be used as a sort of “plantation” where more seeds can be collected as needed in case the other stands burn before reaching sexual maturity.

Lauren Anderson is an intern at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research through the Bureau of Land Management’s Seeds of Success Program. Read her previous post, The Desert: Blooms and Hail.

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27

Yun Zi Training

By
Jennifer Becerra
– April 26, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi: What a quick learner!

I still cannot believe how big panda youngster Yun Zi is whenever I see him. He is by far one of our fastest growing cubs! He impresses me every day with how smart he is. And he teaches me patience when he would rather play than train.

The bears receive data points when they can hear a tone during a hearing study session. On April 19, Yun Zi correctly stationed when he needed to and touched his nose to the red circle when he heard a tone played, receiving his first data sound point during the hearing study. This may seem like a small feat, but he has been training for over a year for this study! I am very proud that he is coming along nicely with the training, and it will be even more exciting when we have a full range of data on him.

Never fret, Yun Zi fans, he will be on exhibit soon and back to redecorating. We don’t have a set date yet, as that depends on Bai Yun and when she wants her privacy. Yun Zi is very spoiled where he is right now, off exhibit, and spends a lot of time close to his keepers. So please be patient with us keepers, as we only do what is best for all of our animals to keep them happy.

Jen Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, What is Yun Zi Doing?

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