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411

Comparing Panda Brothers

By
Jennifer Becerra
– May 20, 2013Posted in: Animals and Plants, Pandas
Bai Yun seems to be keeping an eye on her cub in this Panda Cam screen shot.

Bai Yun seems to be keeping an eye on her cub in this Panda Cam screen shot.

Xiao Liwu is a very different cub from his older brother, Yun Zi, but in a good way. He is very smart and is the youngest cub to respond so well to us keepers. Yun Zi did not start shift training (learning to move on and off exhibit when requested) until he was a little older than Mr. Wu is now (9 months old).

The important thing to have with the training and shifting is a reward (usually food) motivation. Yun Zi enjoyed honey water, and he was really good at following Bai Yun when she went into the bedroom, and after he arrived in the bedroom, he would come to us for his reward for coming inside.

Mr. Wu has plenty of motivation with play to follow us to the shift door, but he has learned that the play ends at the door. And sometimes he seems to just want to be carried to the shift door, so we keepers can do all the work! When he starts eating diet items regularly, he will start being motivated to come inside when asked. Xiao Liwu now weighs 31.7 pounds (14.4 kilograms).

Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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454

A Mister for Every Panda

By
Anastasia Horning
– May 14, 2013Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas
Xiao Liwu gets comfy in the tree.

How can he rest like that?

As we move into warmer days, I know a few people watching Panda Cam have commented about seeing some “smoke” in the exhibit. Do not be alarmed! What you see are water misters we have for each panda exhibit. In the wild, these bears do deal with extreme cold in the winter and in the summer experience extreme humidity, but here in San Diego they have been a little spoiled with the nice weather that they so often enjoy.

As we head into summer, keepers have some tools to ensure that our animals are comfortable and can relax to get a break from the heat. The number one enrichment item for the summer is ice. On those hot days, keepers like to go raid the food stands for their ice to give “their” animals something cool to flop down on or sit in. We also make popsicles for them; pandas get applesauce, honey, and chunks of fruit in water that is frozen overnight. For a lot of the Zoo’s carnivores, we make “bloodsicles,” using the juice from the meat they are given, as a cool treat.

Another tool at our disposal is the mister, and it can do multiple things for the exhibit and animal. A mister can keep the dust down in the enclosure and make it easier for the keepers to clean. It also creates a cool place for the animal to sleep in so they can stay out on exhibit for our guests to see. If the area gets too warm, the pandas do have air-conditioned bedrooms as well. I always like to remind everyone that our animals’ well being does come first.

Everyone stay cool out there!

Anastasia Horning is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.

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177

Panda Cub Learning Routine

By
Elizabeth Simmons
– January 28, 2013Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized
Xiao Liwu is doing great!

Xiao Liwu is doing great!

It’s been almost three weeks since panda cub Xiao Liwu’s public debut, and he is doing a great job learning how to be a zoo panda. Xiao Liwu has become an early riser, waking up early with his mom, Bai Yun, ready to make his way out to the north exhibit. We have no problem shifting him out in the morning: he eagerly follows Bai Yun through the shift tunnel out to the exhibit, often passing his mother in the tunnel and arriving to the exhibit before his mom has time to catch up!

Once out, Xiao Liwu enjoys climbing on anything he can find: logs, toys, Mom. He continues to explore his environment, perfecting his climbing skills and nibbling on bamboo sticks. Such activity makes our boy sleepy, so Xiao Liwu tends to find a nice place to nap mid-morning. Oftentimes he ends up choosing the moat, much to the dismay of his fans, since he isn’t visible down there (unless you’re watching on Panda Cam). But lately, little Wu has been soaking up the sun on the climbing structure or napping on top of the log.

Sitting in the sun makes a panda quite hot, and you may notice Xiao Liwu panting. He will learn to seek out shade when he gets hot; this is a process all of our babies have gone through. Xiao Liwu does love water, and we have seen him playing in his water tub and the drinker. Soon we will fill the pool with a small amount of water for him to splash around in.

After a full day out on exhibit, our biggest challenge has been getting little Xiao Liwu back into his bedroom in the afternoon. Bai Yun is always ready to shift in for dinner; Mr. Wu is usually sacked out in the moat or in the climbing structure in the afternoon. Because of her trust in her keepers, we are fortunate to be able to shift Bai Yun into her bedroom for dinner without her son, giving keepers the opportunity to wake Xiao Liwu up and encourage him to come in.

Once awake and in the shift tunnel, Mr. Wu tends to roll around and play in the tunnel on his way to his mother. Bai Yun waits patiently in back for her son to make his way in. She seems to know he needs to learn to shift in as well as he shifts out in the morning.

All in all, our panda boy is doing an excellent job learning to be a zoo panda, and we are very proud of him and his amazing mother.

Elizabeth Simmons is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Big Day for Mr. Wu.

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165

Panda Cam Brings Healing

By
Matt Steele
– January 17, 2013Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Pandas

Our animal cams aren’t just for fleeting entertainment. As a wildlife conservation organization, our mission is to connect people to wildlife and conservation, and our live cams are incredibly powerful tools that allow us to connect people to wildlife worldwide in real time. With the birth of our sixth panda, Xiao Liwu, Panda Cam has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. We get comments from people all over the world about Panda Cam, but one in particular touched us, and we wanted to share it with you. Enjoy.

“My sister and I began watching these bears when our little gift was born. Then I took them to the hospital where I work and began sharing. For all of my patients and our nursing staff from Sutter Cancer Center in Northern CA, I say THANK YOU to all at SDZ. Your Panda cams and blogs have made a difference in how our very ill patients cope and get through their medical processes.

I am an Integrated Therapist & Medical Aromatherapist. The first thing I do for a new patient who will be staying for awhile is show them how to log on to the Panda Cam. We have all watched our “little gift” be born and grow & now make his debut. He is a wonderful deterrent to pain, depression, loneliness and hopelessness. We all thank you so much for providing this wonderful gift for us and our patients. It speaks to the Quality of their Life as they go through treatments.

This is something that should be put in all hospital long-term care and critical-care units. In the love of this little fuzz ball, my patients need less medication for coping and sleeping. I have been known to turn off their computer as they fall asleep with Xiao Liwu sleeping quietly on the screen in their lap. [All hospitals] should consider using this in their critical care and long-term care facilities.

We all love you Bai Yun and our little healing bear, “little Wu.” Happy anniversary to Gao Gao! Forever fans, Robin Gayle & Dixie Lee.”

Matt Steele is the social media planner for San Diego Zoo Global.

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247

Panda Cub: Exam 7

By
Victoria Girdler
– October 4, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Who is the lucky one holding me today?

Today is a day I will always remember. I have worked for San Diego Zoo Global for almost 10 years, but only started working with pandas 1½ years ago. Today was my first opportunity to hold a panda cub, and I have to say it was everything I hoped it would be. Baby boy panda was so cute and fluffy, and since he is getting older now, very squirmy. He weighed 6.6 pounds (2.99 kilograms), his chest girth is 13.7 inches (35 centimeters), his length from head to rump is 16 inches (40.5 centimeters), and his abdomen measures 15.5 inches (39.5 centimeters) around. The cub is able to see and hear more of the world surrounding him, and during today’s exam, veterinary staff confirmed that his eyes and ears are fully open. I look forward to many more interactions with him over the next few months.

Since this is my first time experiencing a panda cub growing up, I am enjoying the day-to-day activities between Mom and cub. Now that the cub is a few months old, Bai Yun has started taking him out of the den into the surrounding bedroom space. While these areas are not on Panda Cam, we do monitor these outings. Trips out of the den are Bai Yun’s way of exposing the cub to new experiences, sights, and sounds. Most of the time she keeps him cradled in her arms, but on occasion she sets him down and encourages him to crawl. This is easier to do on a solid surface as opposed to a high nest of bamboo. On one particular day she was especially helpful, laying him on the scale in her bedroom so we could get a weight!

I look forward to the days, weeks, and months to come when he will get a name, learn to crawl, and eventually follow Mom out into the bigger exhibits.

Victoria Girdler is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Elephant Odyssey: One Year.

View more 7th exam photos in our Panda Photo Gallery.

Click chart to enlarge.

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46

Night Watch: Mission Accepted

By
Jennifer Chapman
– August 9, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Can you start to see the cub’s panda colors?

Being a relief mammal keeper can be difficult. You need to be trained to work in multiple areas, remember all the safety protocols, and know how to identify individual animals, as well as build a relationship with those animals so that you work well with them and have the ability to notice when something is out of the ordinary. However, being a relief keeper also has benefits. You have the opportunity to work with a variety of animals in different areas of the San Diego Zoo, assist with training new behaviors or maintain existing ones, and be there to help wherever and whenever the department needs you. When I found out I was needed to help monitor our pregnant panda, Bai Yun, for signs of labor and later to monitor Mom and cub’s well-being, I accepted the mission. After all, it is my job! Once I found out that mission would take place overnight, from 7:30 p.m. to 4 a.m., by myself for two weeks, my mind began racing. Would I be able to stay up all night? If something went wrong, how quickly could someone back me up? Would I be able to stay up all night? How well can I work all the camera equipment?

All of those anxious feelings quickly turned to excitement about what I was going to be a part of. How many people can say that their job required them to spend 80 hours monitoring a mother panda and her brand new cub?! What an amazing 80 hours it has been! Sure, much of the time was spent watching Bai Yun sleep in the den, but all of those hours were worth it when I was fortunate to be the only keeper on duty the first time Bai Yun left the den, giving me and anyone else watching Panda Cam the very first look at the new cub! I will never forget that moment: Monday, July 30, at 9:10 p.m.

I noticed Bai Yun re-positioning a lot, then all of a sudden she stood up and walked out of the den, leaving the cub flailing about and squawking. I was so excited but had to do my best to contain myself in order to do my job and gather as much information as possible. First, note the time; second, work the camera to get a good look at the cub; and finally, try to figure out where Bai Yun left, why, and what time she returned. Somehow I was able to accomplish all that while being in absolute amazement of what I was witnessing. I had been hearing the tiny cub off and on, but now I was able to see it and, more importantly, see that it was doing well. Of course, Bai Yun has been a mother five times before, but I wasn’t there for those cubs; this was my first time seeing her with a newborn, watching her enormous paws and mouth so carefully embrace this 4-ounce being, and it was unforgettable.

Since that unveiling of her cub, I have had several more opportunities to see it, as well as witness her gentle care, yet every time feels like the first. While it has been a great couple of weeks sitting in front of monitors, logging hours of observations, and being part of a new life, it is time to get back to my regular schedule of more physically demanding work wherever the department needs me. I get to work in the sun again with all the other amazing animals I have missed. Being a relief keeper is a tough job, but as they say, somebody has to do it. I’m happy that somebody is me!

Jennifer Chapman is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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40

Science for Kids: Observing

By
Megan Owen
– May 21, 2012Posted in: Animals and Plants, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas, Polar Bears, Uncategorized

Do you remember watching panda Su Lin when she was born in 2005?

We are coming up on bear pregnancy-watch season at the San Diego Zoo! Both our giant panda Bai Yun and polar bear Chinook have bred this year, and we are anxiously awaiting signs that they are pregnant. Our fingers are crossed, and all the tools we use to monitor their status are just about ready to go. Of course, we are all excited by the prospect of bear cubs in 2012, and I think it’s safe to say that we will all enjoy the opportunity we have to look into the bears’ dens and observe these ursid moms and their cubs.

An important aspect of our conservation research is the study of animal behavior, which tells us much about the biology of the animals we love and provides us with tools to assess how the animals are doing and what a “typical” animal should be doing during important phases of its life. The study of animal behavior can provide tremendous insights into a species’ biology and gives us tools we can use to help conserve them. While the behavioral data we collect fits into a scientifically devised systematic framework, there is much to be gained from simple observation as well.

I have tried to share the joy of observing animals with my kids in hopes that it will also provide a connection with science and what it means to be a scientist. Often, when we are out and about in our neighborhood or at the park near our home, we stop to watch what the various animals we see are doing. It is amazing how exciting and exotic a squirrel can seem if you really stop and take a few minutes to watch the way it interacts with its environment, the way it responds to your presence, and the various ways it vocalizes and flags its tail to send signals to other animals around it. One of our other favorite animal-watching activities is going on a “bug safari,” which simply entails going into our backyard and turning over a rock. This simple excursion provides a window into the fascinating world of potato bugs, ants, and worms. Very cool!

Panda Cam viewers watched Mei Sheng grow to roly-poly cuteness in the birthing den in 2003.

Another readily accessible way for most kids to experience being an animal behaviorist is to watch our own exotic bears through Panda Cam and Polar Cam. While giant panda and polar bear cubs are undeniably cute, they are also fascinating to watch, and the care and patience the mother bear shows while tending to her offspring is fascinating. After each of Bai Yun’s cubs, our scientific and animal care staff watches the activity in the den in great detail and with unflagging fascination. I love that this very same view into the den will be available to anyone who visits our website.

We are all counting the days to the (hoped for) panda and polar bear births. As part of that, we are making sure that all of our camera systems and microphones are ready in the dens so that we can continue our studies of maternal care behavior in bears. This time around, I hope some young scientists out there will study the bears along with us.

Megan Owen is a conservation program manager for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Children and Nature.

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43

Pandas Play Peek-a-boo

By
Suzanne Hall
– February 21, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi

Many of our blog readers have commented in recent weeks that they are concerned that they haven’t seen giant panda Yun Zi on Panda Cam or in person. Some have expressed concern about his apparent disappearance. I thought I would take a moment to explain some of the factors contributing to his absence and to reassure you that Yun Zi is just fine.

As you know, the San Diego Zoo has new HD cameras that have vastly improved your Panda Cam viewing experience. No more grainy, foggy, or blurry images online. Instead, we have clear, enlarged images that help you get a better feel for the pandas and their enclosures. However, not every one of our facility’s 30-odd cameras was replaced with the HD system. Several of our areas are still serviced by our old, standard cameras. However, the old system is not compatible with our new HD service. That means that when a bear is in an area with an old camera, he or she will not be visible on the Panda Cam.

So why not simply rotate a bear outside where he is accessible both to the visiting public and the Panda Cam? We would do that, under typical circumstances. However, we have a few other factors at play that are influencing our decisions about panda placement. For one, the panda gift shop is being rebuilt. During the construction, we are watching the bears very closely to document their response to this disturbance and ensure the welfare of our animals throughout the process. We are in a current holding pattern of minimizing all other transitions for the bears to further reduce any potential stressors. That means we are keeping animal rotations to an absolute minimum so long as the bears seem comfortable.

We are also creeping close to the breeding season for our adults. The main viewing exhibits are the home base for Bai Yun and Gao Gao once estrus begins, and the place where any breeding would occur if the two were inclined to copulate. Bai Yun has been doing a little scent marking lately, although she is likely weeks away from beginning her estrus. Even so, this is just another factor in play when we make determinations about which bear will be in any given spot on any given day.

Currently, Yun Zi is being housed in an area with the old cameras, which is why you haven’t seen him. He spends his days with access to behind-the-scenes bedrooms and off-exhibit outdoor areas, including our “classroom” exhibits. If he is high in one of his trees, a Zoo guest can catch a glimpse of him when strolling past the facility or riding the moving walkway to the landing near Owens Aviary. If Yun Zi is on the ground or in his bedroom, all areas fitted with older cameras, he is not visible to the public.

But even when he is out of sight, he is clearly not out of mind for our readers. You’ll have to be content to know that we are taking great care of our young male, and he is happy and healthy and content. Soon enough, when the time is right, he’ll be back in view in the exhibits. And if Bai Yun mates again this spring, she will eventually be pulled off exhibit for an extended period as we watch her for signs of pregnancy. Yun Zi and Gao Gao will be our panda ambassadors, but many will ask: when is Bai Yun coming back on exhibit?

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Changes for Gao Gao.

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59

Pandas: Like Son, Like Mother

By
Michelle Penick
– December 7, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Who remembers Zhen Zhen's first snow day (Spring 2008)?

A few weeks ago, a very ambitious young panda named Yun Zi took the tree guard off of the little elm tree in his exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. He was having a great time running around that day! Thanks to the lightning-fast response of the keepers, they were able to call him into his bedroom, and the much more mellow Gao Gao was moved to the exhibit on the right-hand side of the main viewing area.

Then pandemonium happened on Monday, December 5. Bai Yun, our mother panda, got a wild hair and decided to play with the tree guard around the elm tree in HER exhibit that she had been ignoring for the past several months. She adeptly plucked off the zip ties that held the plastic barrier around the elm tree like a musician plucking a harp. Bai Yun had plenty of other panda-approved things to play with, like a Boomer ball in her exhibit, but I guess the plastic around the tree looked too fun to pass up! Again, with the lightning-fast reflexes of the keepers, Bai Yun was called into her bedroom and went immediately inside. All one keeper could do was exclaim, “Like son, like mother!” I’ll have to admit that it did make me chuckle a bit.

What else is going on? There is a new visitor to the main exhibit. A beautiful bird of prey has been perching in the tree above our visitors and sometimes flies to the elm tree in Bai Yun’s exhibit. So far, Bai Yun takes little notice of the bird, but Zoo visitors are getting some nice photos. It appears to be perhaps a Cooper’s hawk or sharp-shinned hawk. It usually flies off toward the Zoo’s Treetops Café, so you might spot this beautiful bird there as well.

Yun Zi is scheduled to get snow on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. This will be his first time experiencing snow, so if you can’t make it in person, be sure to watch all the action on our new HD Panda Cam. With so much going on at the Zoo, it seems like the pandas will be as busy as some of us this time of year.

I hope you all have a great time with your family this holiday, and remember that the Zoo will be open until 8 p.m. starting on December 10 for our Jungle Bells Celebration. See you soon!

Michelle Penick is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, From Tiny to Teenager.

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37

Bai Yun: Time to Relax

By
Anastasia Horning
– December 6, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas

Bai Yun gets all the toys and treats for herself!

As the San Diego Zoo’s panda males are shifting exhibits and getting extremely active, it is our adult female Bai Yun who is holding down the fort. So often when I’m at the Zoo’s Panda Trek, our guests comment that they cannot see Bai Yun’s face and that she isn’t moving. Those of us who know her, and know her behavior, understand her better. But I just smile at our guests and tell them to come back in another hour, when she should be eating. I’m usually dead-on with my prediction of her behavior.

As many of you know, we did breed Bai Yun and Gao Gao this last spring, but no cubs were born, and this year will be the first year that she has not had a cub with her since early 2003. Gao Gao came to the Zoo and sired his first cub, Mei Sheng, in the spring of 2003. Mei Sheng is now in China at a giant panda breeding facility and is doing very well there. Bai Yun looks like she just wants to sleep most of the time. I also remind our guests that she finally has some down time where she gets to relax, eat to her heart’s content, and not have to care for a little cub. We have not seen any further hormonal behavior from her, such as continuous scent marking or attempting to den up, so we are sure that her hormones have returned to baseline, and she is just enjoying her time to herself.

When Bai Yun is called into the bedrooms, she is quite willing to go in and get her treats and attention from the keepers. She no longer has to compete with a cub to get apples or carrots. As she comes back into the exhibit, she also is much more relaxed about going around the enclosure to find her treats. When she still had a cub, she would rush around to find those goodies as quickly as possible so that her cub didn’t get all of her treats before she could. All of these behaviors were normal. They encouraged the cub to move quickly and gave him or her a kind of competition, something all wild animals must deal with in some way.

We get several questions about if Bai Yun will come into heat again this spring, and I can honestly say that we are still unsure of that. We won’t really know until we get closer to the time of year that she normally begins to cycle. Female pandas often stop reproducing around the ages of 19 and 21 years. Bai Yun is currently 20 years old, and though she is extremely healthy and strong, we are still studying her. There have been studies done in China on females, but all of our studies here at the San Diego Zoo are different in their own ways, and we have an amazing research team.

So keep watching on Panda Cam and come see us soon! Our new HD Panda Cam debuts tomorrow, December 7, and one of our pandas will be enjoying a snow day on Thursday, December 8! And our Jungle Bells hours are coming up, and Panda Trek will be open until 7:30 p.m., December 10 through January 1 (except December 24).

Anastasia Horning is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Yun Zi: Burst of Energy.

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