ZOONOOZ featured article

ZOONOOZ featured article

165

Thankful for Pandas

By
Jennifer Becerra
– November 27, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Pandas, ZOONOOZ featured article

Jen is thankful for Xiao Liwu.

I was the fortunate one to help out with Xiao Liwu’s 14th exam on November 20. We have been thinking about nicknames for the little guy, and most seem to like Liwu or Mr. Wu for this newly active one. This exam was a challenging one, as Mr. Wu is starting to crawl more and climb on his keepers. For this exam, we decided to let him explore some new toys, such as a black Kong chew toy, a green ball, and some bamboo leaves. He wasn’t too sure about the Kong. He seemed to like to look at it, but when he touched it, he got a little nervous. He is just learning what different substrates feel like: two weeks ago he felt grass for the first time in Bai Yun’s off-exhibit garden room, and he wasn’t sure so he cried for his mom to pick him up.

Mr. Wu is working on perfecting his skills of climbing in and out of the den on his own. He will have to get more comfortable out of the den and in the garden room before he makes his exhibit debut. We are excited to share this little cub with all his fans in the future. As keepers, we rely on Bai Yun’s cues to let us know when Xiao Liwu is ready to go out into the exhibit. She likes to make sure all her cubs can walk and climb up a tree before they go into a bigger space. We are hoping he will be available for viewing sometime in January.

Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Panda Exam 9: Crawling.

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231

Panda Cub: Exam 14

By
admin
– November 21, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Pandas, Uncategorized, ZOONOOZ featured article

Xiao Liwu gets his first chew toy.

Xiao Liwu had his weekly exam Tuesday morning and his final vaccination. The cub weighed 10.8 pounds (4.9 kilograms) and measured 25.5 inches (65 centimeters) long. During the exam, a Zoo veterinarian was able to see and feel several teeth in the baby bear’s mouth.

The Panda Team set out a ball, a chew toy, and some bamboo on the exam floor so the cub would have different items to explore. Veterinarian Matt Kinney noted that while Xiao Liwu is crawling better than he has done in previous weeks, they don’t feel he is able to navigate the uneven terrain of the Zoo’s panda exhibits yet. The cub will continue to practice his crawling and walking skills in an off-exhibit suite of rooms before he and his mother, Bai Yun, are given access to a public exhibit.

More photos of the 14th exam can be viewed in our Panda Photo Gallery.

Click on chart to enlarge.

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198

Lucky Exam 13

By
Victoria Girdler
– November 13, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized, ZOONOOZ featured article

Victoria, in the center, holds Xiao Liwu on her lap. Panda fans everywhere turn green with envy.

Yesterday was Xiao Liwu’s 13th exam. Thirteen might be unlucky for some people, but for me it was my second opportunity to assist with an exam; my first one was six weeks ago (see post Panda Cub: Exam 7). It was definitely a different experience this time around. To start, we now perform the exam on top of a special carpet on the ground in the Giant Panda Research Station. This transition happened a few weeks ago when the young cub began attempting to crawl. He was an adorable wiggly worm as I tried to hold him still while the veterinarian and nutritionist attempted to examine and measure him.

At 15 weeks of age, he weighed 10.3 pounds (5.7 kilograms) and is 25.1 inches (64 centimeters) long (see growth chart below for a cub comparison), and our veterinarian, PK Robbins, noted that his first four teeth have erupted through his gums.

The best part is that his crawling seemed to bring him up into my lap, not away from us as one might expect. It appears that our sweet panda baby enjoys a good cuddle! At the end of the exam, we backed away to observe the improvement in his crawling with no impediments. Xiao Liwu is progressing nicely, getting his rear feet under him as he crawled. We have even witnessed him crawling back into the den, which is raised about 6 inches (15 centimeters) off the ground.

Stay tuned for future milestones!

Victoria Girdler is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Click on chart to enlarge.

Note: Photos from the 13th exam are now posted in the Panda Photo Gallery.

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117

Panda Cub: Big Belly!

By
Suzanne Hall
– July 31, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas, Uncategorized, ZOONOOZ featured article

Here’s a good glimpse of our newest panda!

Last night, a little after 9, Bai Yun made her first den departure. She stepped out briefly to get a drink of water. Although female pandas generally fast for several days after the birth of their cub, it’s not unusual for them to need a drink of water a day or two postpartum.

We are happy to see that Bai Yun is looking after her own needs; it will be critical to her success in rearing this cub past the first few crucial days of life. Bai Yun is no newbie to the process of cub rearing, and with her most recent cubs she showed us how she has been able to walk the line between providing excellent care to herself while maintaining excellent care of her cub.

So tiny, so loved!

Although Bai Yun was out of the den for only about a minute, her absence from the den afforded us the first good look at her youngster. What we saw is very encouraging. The cub was extremely vocal, registering its complaint over Mother’s absence. To us, that indicates good vigor and a proper behavioral response to the cool air and loss of contact with Mom. The cub was wiggling all over the floor, indicating good strength and energy. And the cub had a nice, round belly, indicating that Bai Yun is providing plenty of milk.

Perfect.

We are not out of the woods yet, but thus far everything looks great in the den.


Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Panda Cub: 1st Overnight.

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