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panda Yun Zi

18

What is Yun Zi Doing?

By
Jennifer Becerra
– February 23, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi, our ace student!

As of January 24, 2012, giant panda Yun Zi has moved from the main viewing exhibits and is currently living in the bedroom suites at the San Diego Zoo’s Panda Trek. He is enjoying his extended vacation and being around his keepers, who dote on him all day. Yun Zi is being pampered daily with enrichment toys to keep him busy and extra training sessions with his favorite keepers. He is putting in all his effort to excel in his studies and training. Yun Zi is trying to make his parents proud by following in their footsteps!

Currently, Yun Zi is training to be a candidate for our hearing study. He is learning to be patient and sit in one place (called a “station”) until he hears a tone. When he hears a tone, he then needs to touch his nose to a red circle (the target) to let the keeper know he heard it. If he does not hear a tone, he needs to remain in the station position. This study is very important to our researchers as we test the sound frequencies and levels of a panda’s hearing. Pandas can be stressed by different noise frequencies; if we know their range of hearing, we can determine which levels are a bother to them. Yun Zi is also learning how to put his arm through a special sleeve, called a “blood draw sleeve,” so the Zoo’s vet technicians can safely take a sample of blood from his arm without the use of anesthesia. Yun Zi is currently excelling in all of his training and seems to enjoy the extra time with his keepers.

Yun Zi might not be on exhibit for a while, and it all depends on his mom. In the past, this is the time when all of our teenage bears move out to an off-exhibit area so their mother could prepare for breeding season. If you remember last year, this was the time when Yun Zi moved out and got his own apartment, so to speak (see post Yun Zi Gets Own Apartment)! This helped us prepare for the time when Bai Yun selected her “date night” with Gao Gao. It is very important that Bai Yun and Gao Gao are housed next to each other so we can detect any signs of estrus. It is an exciting time to watch both adult bears flirting with each other.

Bai Yun is the only one who can decide when she is ready, and this can be any time between now and April. We only have a small window of three days when Bai Yun can show us she is ready to spend time with her “husband.” We are all excited for a potential date night between Bai Yun and Gao Gao this spring. Keep your fingers crossed for the sound of little paws this fall!

Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Panda Party Invitation.

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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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29

Panda: From Tiny to Teenager

By
Michelle Penick
– November 15, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi

“Where is the baby panda?” is a question I often get asked by San Diego Zoo visitors. They can hardly believe that the youngest giant panda in our Zoo, Yun Zi, is the 145-pound (66 kilograms) animal that is in the exhibit in front of them!

When pandas first start out life, they are just a few ounces in weight and about the size of a stick of butter. They are fairly helpless and can’t see or hear at that age, but they are quite noisy. This is pretty genius of the cubs to make that much noise so that the 200-plus-pound mother bear knows exactly where the tiny infant is at. Young pandas grow at a very rapid rate and gain independence from their mother at around 18 months of age. Yun Zi has been on his own for quite some time now. He celebrated his second birthday on August 5, and he is now considered a sub-adult by panda research standards or a teenager by our human family standards. Pandas generally live to be 16 to 20 years old in the wild, and in a managed-care environment they can live sometimes into their 30s.

The keepers say that Yun Zi is not only looking more grown up, but he is acting more like a teenager, too. These days, they wonder if the name “Little Dragon,” which also translates as “little monster,” should have been his true name. If you remember, “Little Dragon” was one of the five name choices people could vote for during the final phases of online voting for Yun Zi’s name. But with over 17,500 votes, the people spoke loud and clear, choosing “Yun Zi” or “Son of Cloud.” The name is a great tribute to our mother bear, Bai Yun, or “White Cloud.”

So what has the whirlwind we call Yun Zi been up to? What hasn’t he been up to? He has been running all over his exhibit, turning somersaults, playing in the mud, attacking burlap sacks that the keepers put in the exhibit for him to play with, balancing on his float toys, and all of his other usual hobbies that young Zoo pandas enjoy. Like many teenagers, though, there were a few times in these past few months where his listening skills had room for improvement.

The keepers work with Yun Zi using positive reinforcement training. When Yun Zi does what is asked of him, he is rewarded with a treat. When Yun Zi doesn’t do what is asked of him, he gets ignored for a brief period and then the keepers offer another opportunity to earn treats again later. This is how we get the pandas to go inside their bedrooms so that the keepers can clean. There were a few days this last month where the keepers had to “ask” Yun Zi several times to go in his bedroom. Once I saw them try four times. I asked the keepers about the change in behavior. They said that when Yun Zi is acting more difficult, it is often at a time when they see him going through a growth spurt, just like what seems to happen with human teenagers. If Yun Zi keeps up with all this growing, he will be outweighing his father, Gao Gao, soon.

Michelle Penick is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Bai Yun Returns.

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13

Panda Enrichment

By
Alyssa Medeiros
– November 2, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi

The Giant Panda Research Center was full of activity yesterday, November 1. Yun Zi was being very entertaining for our guests, especially with his enrichment. Our keepers gave him a pile of soil and shavings sprinkled with scent. He gave our guests a show by rolling all around in the soil, rubbing it on top of his head. It was like a kid rolling around in the sand on the beach. Once he was finished, he looked more like a small black bear than a giant panda. He was a day late for Halloween!

Bai Yun seemed very content. At one point she sat on top of some branches while resting her head on the tiny hammock that is attached to her tree. She just looked so silly! And at the end of the day, while Bai Yun was in her pond and Yun Zi in his hammock, both sat happily eating their dinner.

Alyssa Medeiros is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Pandas: A Beautiful Day.

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73

So Long, Summer

By
Michelle Penick
– September 8, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi is an independent two year old!

What a summer it has been at the San Diego Zoo! For those of you who like your news condensed, I will give you a recap of some of our memorable events this season in Panda Canyon.

Late spring, we saw Charlotte the hummingbird raise two babies in Gao Gao’s exhibit. Both young birds seemed healthy, and every time I see a hummingbird at pandas now, I can’t help but wonder if it is a part of Charlotte’s family.

After gradually weaning from his mom, Yun Zi became a very independent young panda. His keepers have been training him to take part in a hearing study to test the range of a panda’s hearing, and from the look of it, it seems like the training is going very well. Keeper Juli Borowski even presented a paper about training for research at the American Association of Zoo Keepers conference, which was held in San Diego this year. I have seen Yun Zi lie down, roll over, put his paws up on the gate, and, most important for the study, touch his nose to the red dot on the mesh door when asked. Good panda!

I just loved seeing all the panda fans at the Black & White Overnight this year. Many had panda-ear hats or T-shirts and bags featuring their favorite pandas, and the campers made enrichment “animals” out of cardboard boxes for the pandas to play with. Yun Zi really loved these and was running around his exhibit like a wild child tearing them up, climbing on his structures, and splashing in his pool. You campers really made his day lots of fun, and I hope the “Panda-Vaganza” was fun for those of you who attended this year.

The Panda Trek habitat opened on Yun Zi’s birthday, August 5, and the pandas soon got a red panda and takins as neighbors. I will tell you that Yun Zi seemed not so thrilled with the takins at first. Even though he can’t see them, he was lifting his nose in the air and vocalizing at first (maybe he was wondering what the unusual new smell was?), but he quickly got used to their scent, and it is life as usual now for our busy boy.

So what is on the horizon for Panda Canyon this fall? The pandas should be getting some new enrichment items after the sale of the baby panda plush animals that went toward that cause. Thanks so much if you purchased one of those cute souvenirs. Money is still being raised for Yun Zi’s new climbing structure (see our Wish List if you would like to contribute). It would provide the pandas with a new 12-foot-tall artificial tree guaranteed to be Yun Zi-proof! It sounds really amazing, and I can’t wait to see this put into the exhibit in the future.

Thanks for reading through the summer happenings, and until next time, keep tuning in to Panda Cam.

Michelle Penick is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Thinking of Spring.

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98

Black & White Overnight is Back!

By
Tristen Tucker
– June 27, 2011Posted in: Animals and Plants, Events at the Zoo, More, Pandas, Uncategorized

Make enrichment toys for Yun Zi during Black & White Overnight!

Hello, fellow bloggers and panda fans, I have great news: we are bringing back our Black & White Overnight sleepover! After hearing such great feedback from last year’s Black & White Overnight campers, we have decided to add a second weekend option for families on Saturday, July 23! But, if this event isn’t quite your cut of bamboo, we will also have an adults-only version (for ages 21 and older) that will be offered on Saturday, July 30.

Both evenings will start out with fun activities, including black and white trivia with Dr. Zoolittle and one of his black-and-white buddies, an exclusive bus tour, and up-close interactions with a few of our animal ambassadors (of the black-and-white variety, of course!). From there, you will be spoiled with delicious desserts and a presentation from one of the Zoo’s panda researchers. For the family sleepover, Dr. Zoolittle will perform a special show just for the kids during the researcher presentation. After the presentation (and when the Zoo is officially closed to the public), our educators will lead you on an intimate “Night Prowl” down into the canyon, where you will get an up-close look at some of our nocturnal animals.

A delicious dinner will be provided, along with a private breakfast at Canyon Café, where the next black-and-white adventures will begin. Around mid-July, the San Diego Zoo’s new Panda Trek (see video) exhibit will make its debut. If all goes according to plan (we’re crossing our fingers!), you will have an exclusive opportunity to be some of the first trekkers to experience the new Panda Trek exhibit!

I will leave the other fun details to those of you who attend, but last year’s Black & White Overnight sold out FAST! I expect this event will, too. To register or to learn more about the Black & White Overnight, please click here.

I am so excited to be a part of this special event, and I hope to see you there!

Tristen Tucker is a senior educator at the San Diego Zoo.

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22

Yun Zi’s Spring Break

By
Jennifer Becerra
– April 5, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Yun Zi

Yun Zi is currently enjoying a change of scenery, where the grass is greener and the trees are in bloom. The 111-pound (50kg), 3-foot-tall (when standing) young adult is trying out new climbing challenges in one of the exhibits that is visible to the public (and one that has a better camera for all his fans at home!), the one he first saw as a young cub. He will temporarily have access to this space, depending on Bai Yun’s breeding time. Please be patient with our Yun Zi as he will have a slow acclimation to this exhibit.  He will still have access to an off-exhibit area while he gets used to the new exhibit and dealing with his paparazzi.

Yun Zi is also moving forward with his training for the hearing study.  He is currently learning how to be patient and to sit with his chin on a small shelf.  The next step will be to target (touch his nose) to a red circle when he hears a sound. This study will help our researchers determine his range of hearing. He is an extremely intelligent panda, and he challenges my patience as his keeper and trainer. Yun Zi takes his training extremely seriously and is always ready for a training session.  I am excited that we are working toward including him in the hearing study.  I am extremely proud of him and excited to see him excel like his sisters Su Lin and Zhen Zhen.

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

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33

Panda Yun Zi: On His Own

By
Suzanne Hall
– February 11, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Conservation, Conservation at the Zoo, Pandas, Uncategorized

On Thursday, February 10, we completed the weaning process for Yun Zi. Keepers had considered putting him together with his mother for a few hours in the mid-morning, but the young bear had enjoyed a hearty breakfast and was sleeping it off all morning. Taking advantage of his peacefulness, the decision was made to forgo a reunion. When he awoke, Yun Zi was moved through the tunnels to the bedrooms in the upper area of the San Diego Zoo Giant Panda Research Station.

It was good timing. Overnight videotaping from the previous two evenings had revealed that mother and offspring experienced bouts of separation anxiety. They had spent some time interacting across the separation gate, no doubt a frustrating experience for both animals. It was time for us to change the situation to the benefit of both bears.

Yun Zi had done amazingly well through this process. I have witnessed the weaning of each of our five cubs, and it is my opinion that he handled it the best. He displayed very few signs of concern about the process until the end. Even when he did get restless, the intensity of his anxiety seemed lower than that of some of the other cubs. Yun Zi is a champ.

Is this a factor of our fine-tuned process? Or is it just a result of his mellow personality? Or could it be that he was taking his cues from his mother, Bai Yun? After all, she has been through this process many times before, and she probably recognizes the opportunity to wean when it arises. The literature on weaning in other species strongly suggests experienced mothers are more likely to wean early and show fewer signs of anxiety in the first days after weaning is accomplished. Although we do the best we can for our animals, it is my suspicion that Bai Yun played the biggest role in determining the outcome here.

Yun Zi is now in an area with only one camera available. You will get to see him on camera, from time to time, in the garden room. In addition to this space, which places him in close proximity to the keepers, he has the run of three sunrooms and a pair of bedrooms. He will be well pampered by the staff when he feels like interacting. Bai Yun, for her part, will have Gao Gao across the separation gate for now.  We will keep you updated as  changes occur.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo’s Office of Giant Panda Conservation.

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64

Yun Zi: Calm and Mellow

By
Anastasia Horning
– February 4, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

The 18-month mark is right around the corner for giant panda Yun Zi, and so far he is adjusting perfectly to not always being around Mom. Since they’ve been given access to both exhibit spaces in front, Yun Zi has spent most of his time in one enclosure while Bai Yun is enjoying the space in the other.

For a couple of days now the doors have been shut from the time of morning feeding to the mid-day feeding. The two bears have been doing extremely well on their own. Bai Yun doesn’t look for her cub; instead, she enjoys the time to herself and eats well, knowing that she doesn’t have to share. Yun Zi is doing well also; most of his time is spent sleeping and exploring the new-to-him exhibit. He enjoys the climbing structure there and has shown how calm and mellow he can be.

One of the days that they were re-united, Bai Yun pushed Yun Zi out of the way so that she could get to the biscuits hidden on “his” side of the viewing area. The cub isn’t showing any effort to nurse during the day, and he’s been getting smarter at stealing Mom’s bamboo. Bai Yun is doing her best to keep him away as she eats, but the two do go back and forth between the two enclosures, picking at the bamboo left there by the other.

They are doing so well through this transition, and we will be moving at the bears’ comfort level. We will do our best to keep everyone updated.

Anastasia Horning is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Our Growing Panda Boy.

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37

Big Steps Toward Independence

By
Michelle Penick
– February 3, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Bears, Pandas, Uncategorized

Look, Ma, no paws!

Giant panda Yun Zi is doing great during the slow, step-by-step separation process. Our once-little guy has been such an independent bear! The other panda narrators say that when it comes to eating bamboo, he is one of the most advanced cubs they have ever seen at the San Diego Zoo, with the ability to eat the culm of the larger pieces of bamboo at an early age. Yun Zi often comfortably rests on his log perch at lofty heights during the day, and Zoo guests marvel at how much he has grown in the last 18 months.

As panda researcher Suzanne Hall said in her post, Moving Right Along, even when we give our youngster and his mother, Bai Yun, the opportunity to spend time together, they often just choose to do their own thing. Tuesday afternoon, Yun Zi was having a great time knocking apples, carrots, yams, and leaf eater biscuits from his giant panda toy. The keepers cleverly hung this toy from his favorite log, of course! Yunior (Yun Zi) was confidently navigating the right-hand enclosure to look for more treats after his moment of frolic was over, and Bai Yun only seemed concerned with devouring the lunch portion of her bamboo.

All is going as well as the Panda Team has hoped for, and we are so proud of our (not so little anymore) guy. Yun Zi is already over 91 pounds (41 kilograms) and is getting bigger every day. Can you believe he was the size of a stick of butter when he was first born? This is totally normal, though, for a panda cub; after all, they can grow to be 600 times their birth weight by the time they are 18 months old. Still, it is hard to believe that one day Yun Zi will be around 300 pounds (136 kilograms). Our boy bear still has plenty of growing to do, but he is definitely on the right track.

Michelle Penick is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Fond Panda Memories.

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