Past Panda Cub Updates (September - July 2009)
Wendesday, September 30
Finally, fall has come to Atlanta. This week we will have highs around 75° F, which will allow us to keep the pandas outside all day. We continue to rotate the bears between the outdoor habitats to allow each of them time to enjoy the cooler weather. Along with the drop in temperatures we may start to see a change in the panda’s bamboo preferences. Last week they were eating the leaves on the Yellow Groove bamboo, but now they are eating the culm, or stalk, of the same type of bamboo. Hopefully fall is here to stay, but you never know when it comes to Atlanta weather.
Kate Roca
Carnivore Keeper II
Monday, Septmeber 28
If you haven’t worked as a keeper in the giant panda building for a couple of months, when you return you find that a lot has changed. Sometimes these changes are subtle (i.e. slight diet changes), and other times they can be huge developmental changes. I experienced two of these changes this past week when I was working in the building. One of which is the size of Mei Lan. She’s gotten HUGE! I couldn’t believe how big she was when I walked into the building to see her asleep in her overnight den. It is crazy to me how big she has gotten just over a couple of months. She is now around 89 kg (195.8 lbs)! The second change I have been lucky enough to experience has been Xi Lan’s excellent ability to shift throughout the building, from area to area. Whenever we need to move a panda from one area to another we simply use his/her name, followed by the command word “shift.” The panda is then expected to move through the open doors until reaching the desired location. Xi Lan, although he has not quite mastered this completely, has caught on to this concept with ease. Whenever I called out for him to shift, I saw him barreling down the tree and running full speed for the door. The only exception to this comes when the little guy is tired and has no intention of getting up from his resting place. He tends to have the classic “teenager” approach to the situation; if pandas actually slept with blankets, I could see him pulling it over his head, pretending not to hear a word I am saying.
Lynn Culver
Keeper I Carnivores
Friday, Septmeber 25
You may have noticed that hammock was removed from the dayroom. That’s because the mulch substrate in the panda dayrooms was treated with lime this week. Lime is applied to the substrate periodically to prevent mold and parasites from living in the substrate. It’s easier to move around in the dayroom for the lime application if the hammock is removed. It’s also enriching for the pandas when the enclosure furnishings are removed or repositioned. The keepers will reinstall the hammock in a week or two.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
Recently, I watched Lun Lun and Xi Lan searching for leafeater biscuits and fruit that the keepers had hidden and tossed around the exhibit. We call this a scatter feed and it’s a simple but highly effective type of enrichment that requires the animals to spend time searching for their food. Xi Lan was resting at the top of a climbing structure, but as soon as the keepers finished the scatter feed he climbed down to investigate. He soon found a piece of apple and began munching away. Meanwhile, Lun Lun was quickly and efficiently searching for and gobbling up fruit and biscuits. Part of her strategy for quickly finding the food is to frequently check Xi Lan for food. She sniffs and nuzzles his paws and mouth. If he’s holding something, she takes it and eats it. Xi Lan is accustomed to this. So, he shoves small pieces of food completely into his mouth and carries larger pieces to the top of the climbing structure to avoid raids by his mother. Stealing food from her offspring might not seem like exemplary maternal behavior, but Xi Lan is still receiving the vast majority of his calories from Lun Lun’s milk. It’s important that Lun Lun makes sure she consumes enough food to continue to produce sufficient milk for Xi Lan. He weighs 52 pounds now and is still growing at a fast rate. Thus, it’s a huge energy investment for Lun Lun to nurse him. So, don’t judge her behavior unfavorably. She’s actually doing what’s best for herself and Xi Lan. Additionally, he receives his own allotment of fruit and biscuits, which he is allowed to consume at his leisure while separated from Lun Lun for a short time in the morning and evening.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
Well, the birthday celebrations are over. All four bears had their last birthday party for 2009 on Saturday. They each received an ice cake and a present. Lun Lun and Yang Yang received sugarcane in their present boxes -- any giant panda’s favorite treat. Xi Lan received his very own blue jolly ball that a fan sent to him for his first birthday. Mei Lan’s surprise was her own “ping pearls” toy (fire hose with three plastic balls attached) donated by some other fans. Yang Yang loves his “ping pearls” so much that Mei Lan was given her own set, so that she and her dad would not have to share. All of the pandas seemed to enjoy the festivities. These were some of the highlights: Lun Lun self-anointed with her cinnamon cake layer; Xi Lan played with his new ball; Yang Yang knocked his ice cake all over the den; and Mei Lan just couldn’t decide if her cake or her new toy was best.
Kate Roca
Carnivore Keeper II
 |
|
| Another picture from Mei's 3rd birthday |
Kate, JT and I have been busy this past week working on treats for the Pandamonium Birthday Celebration this Saturday, September 19. We are making ice cakes for each of the pandas and working on some special enrichment for them as well. Over the past few weeks, we’ve made sure each panda got special recognition on his or her actual birthday with treats, but Saturday’s party will celebrate all of the pandas. It will also allow everyone who wants to celebrate with the pandas to be a part of the party, even if they couldn’t be here for all four birthdays. We hope you can make it to the Zoo this Saturday to see the pandas enjoy their birthday surprises.
Heather Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II
For the last month or so, it has been quite nice to clean up after the pandas. This time of year they choose to eat the leaves of the bamboo, instead of the culm, or stalk, of the bamboo. When they eat the culm, they peel the outer layer off the bamboo before they eat the inside. This requires us to pick up the many, many chards or peelings of the bamboo. But when the pandas are eating the leaves, there isn’t much extra to clean up. We only have to rake the fallen leaves off the ground or out of the mulch in the dayrooms.
Kate Roca
Carnivore Keeper II
Another giant panda birthday! On September 9, Yang Yang turned 12 years old. Like the other pandas, he received gifts from the keepers, including some bags with treats inside. Unlike Lun Lun, though, he didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic about his presents. The first one he opened did have a biscuit in it, but apparently it flew out of the bag when Yang was opening it. So when Yang checked the bag, he found that there wasn’t a treat to reward him for all of his hard work. Imagine opening a present, but finding nothing inside. That’s not a very good present, in my opinion, and probably not in Yang’s, either. Although Yang continued to look for biscuits after he opened his first present, he eventually lost interest. In fact, he fell asleep before he finished opening all of his presents.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Carnivores
Usually everyone has a favorite spot where they like to relax. For some it’s a comfy chair or sofa in the living room, while for others it is a spot on the beach or maybe a shady spot in the grass under a large tree. Pandas aren't any different when it comes to this. Lun Lun and Mei Lan like to curl up high in the climbing structures, while Yang Yang is pretty much comfortable anywhere. Xi Lan has chosen his spots as well. In the dayrooms, like his mom and sister, he likes to snooze high in the climbing structures, but on exhibit he has taken to a new spot. In his many explorations of the outside habitat, Xi Lan has recently discovered the cave in the back of the exhibit. It is darker in there and also much cooler on these warm summer mornings. It’s a perfect spot for a young panda to catch some z’s. This is not uncommon, as all of our pandas here at Zoo Atlanta have chosen the cave as their preferred spot at one time or another. This means, much to the chagrin of some panda viewers, that Xi Lan is sometimes partially out of sight during the day. But never fear, he doesn't spend too long in the cave. With an increase in age comes an increase in play time, with or without mom. This can last for quite some time, and usually does. After all that exertion, can you blame him for just wanting to curl up and relax in his new favorite spot?
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores
Another Sunday, another birthday! On the 6th, Mei Lan got to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Though there wasn't any fanfare (that happens on the 19th), she still got to enjoy an ice cake that was specially made with three bamboo candles. The ice part was not that stimulating for her this year, but she loved the bamboo candles and tried to consume them. Who knows where the three years went, but she is growing up to be a “big girl” now. I hope that she enjoyed her birthday song this morning!
Joseph T. Svoke
Carnivore Keeper III
The cooler weather that we have had this week has been nice for both the keepers and the pandas. When it is too hot to put pandas in the outdoor habitats in the morning, it makes our job more difficult, since we only have one clean area to put a panda into first thing in the morning. This means we have to set up one panda in the clean area, then scrub and hose out the space that panda used overnight so we can move another panda into the newly cleaned area. This rotation continues throughout the morning until all the pandas have fresh bamboo in clean spaces. However, on cool mornings, 2 pandas can go outside (or 3, if Xi Lan and Lun Lun go outside) and the remaining panda can go into the clean dayroom. This is helpful, because then we can clean everything at once, instead of cleaning individual dens, which takes much less time. Less time cleaning means we have more time to focus on the pandas, which is better for us all.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II
We have been having a spell of cool, rainy weather in Atlanta. The giant panda’s natural habitat is cool and damp, and thus the panda has an oily, dense, wooly coat that is perfect for shedding water and providing insulation. So, we have been having great panda weather. Unless, you ask Yang Yang. He likes to be outside and he likes the cooler temperatures, but he does not like rain. Well, maybe he likes the soothing sound it makes on the roof when he is cozy and dry inside. But he does not like to be outside in the rain. We all know this about Yang Yang, and so we rarely put him outside when it’s raining. Occasionally we give it a try, because he is a panda and well adapted to a rainy environment. Every time, though, he lets us know that it’s not for him. He waits at the door to come inside and peers in the window watching for someone to rescue him. So, we indulge him. He seems to thoroughly enjoy the coddling. His kids are proving to be tougher. Mei Lan will sit contentedly eating in the rain and Xi Lan has napped in a favorite spot despite rain. They must take after their mother.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
Friday, August 28
On Tuesday, August 25, Lun Lun turned 12 years old. In celebration of this occasion, she received a series of small paper bags filled with hay and her favorite edible goodies. Although we give the giant pandas enrichment every day, this day was special, because she got more than a dozen treat-filled bags, each one decorated with a letter to spell out “happy birthday” (see photo below). By the time I got up to the exhibit to watch the gift-opening, which was only mere moments after the gifts were given to Lun, she was in the process of systematically destroying each of the bags, tearing them open with her teeth and paws to get the food inside. My first glimpse of the birthday party was Lun surrounded by hay and piles of shredded paper bags. She sure did enjoy her presents!
It was Lun’s birthday, but what’s provided to Lun is also provided to Xi Lan. He was very interested in his mom’s birthday presents and what she was doing with them. He walked around her and perched on the climbing structure several times to get a good look at what was going on. It was like he was trying to figure out why his mom was eating something he wasn’t and where it was coming from. Xi Lan won’t have to wait too long to receive his own birthday presents, because he turns one on August 30. Mei Lan and Yang Yang aren’t far behind either, with birthdays on September 6 and 9, respectively.
If you missed seeing Lun get her presents, don’t worry. Xi Lan, Mei Lan and Yang Yang will all receive special gifts on their birthdays, but even better, we will have one big party to celebrate all of the giant pandas’ birthdays on Saturday, September 19th. So don’t miss out on the party! Plan to head to the Zoo on the 19th to celebrate with the entire panda family!
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Carnivores
Tuesday, August 25
Happy Birthday, Lun Lun!
Xi Lan keeps a close eye on Lun Lun's presents.
Monday, August 24
As we approach Xi Lan's 1st birthday, I thought that it would be interesting to see how he has grown over the last year. So, I made a table of some body measurements that have been taken at different times within the last year. This was able to be done, because Heather and I had the opportunity to get some new measurements on him just the other day. He was being very slow about shifting into one of the dayrooms with his mother, so we decided that it would be a good time to try measuring him. He was fairly tolerant of this, as long as he had some banana to eat, which was helpful.
| Sept. 9, 2008 | Feb. 17, 2009 | Aug. 21, 2009 | |
| Total Body Length (nose to tip of tail) |
26.5 cm | 97 cm | 116 cm |
| Neck Girth | 9.5 cm | 33.5 cm | 42 cm |
| Chest Girth | 14.5 cm | 47 cm | 60 cm |
| Abdominal Girth | 16.5 cm | 51.5 cm | 62 cm |
| Weight | 0.254 kg | 10.1 kg | 22.7 kg |
Joseph T. Svoke
Carnivore Keeper III
Friday, August 21
What’s black and white and red all over? Here’s a hint, it’s not the newspaper! Zoo visitors and PandaCam followers may have noticed that Lun Lun is sporting a new hair style as of late. She has a large area of the white fur around her neck and shoulders that has been dyed pink and orange, not by the conventional hair styling products we use, but by Jell-O! As you all may know, we provide our pandas with different forms of enrichment every day. About one week ago, we gave Lun Lun and Xi Lan some strawberry and orange-flavored Jell-O in a bowl for sensory enrichment overnight. None of us noticed the pair playing too much with the Jell-O that evening, but Xi Lan must have played with the bowl and its contents overnight, because we returned the next morning to find a transformed Lun. We decided that she must have slept in a good amount of the spilled Jell-O, thus changing her coat color from a serene black and white to a flashy pink, orange, black and white. Xi Lan’s coat was somehow spared this Jell-O fate, and he did not even seem to take note of the change in his mother. He’s still just as eager to play with her and as rambunctious as ever. Our self-proclaimed “punk” panda will return to her normal tones as soon as the dyed fur is shed. Pandas naturally continuously groom their coats through licking, scratching, and rubbing their fur on nearby objects. In the meantime, don’t be concerned about the color change; it’s just a temporary symbol of her inner spunkiness.
As the last day of my seasonal keeper position with the carnivore department comes to a close, I am reflecting on all of the treasured memories that I have of our panda family at Zoo Atlanta. Like watching Mei Lan discover the bliss of scents and self anoint for the first time with mouthwash, understanding the pains and joys of motherhood through the eyes of Lun Lun, laughing at Yang Yang’s playful antics racing around the dayroom while doing cannonballs and back flips into the hammock, and of course witnessing Xi Lan gain 11 lbs and an ever-increasing confidence in the ways of the world around him. I am so lucky to have gotten to spend time with the pandas and will miss them dearly as I embark on my next adventure in graduate school at Trinity College Dublin. I can’t wait to visit this holiday season and see just how big our little Xi Lan has gottenJ.
Allison Conboy
Seasonal Carnivore Keeper
 |
|
| Panda camouflage |
Wednesday, August 19
For the past week, we have been having problems with the camera system in the giant panda building. A touch-screen panel that we use to control which camera view shows up on which screen died. Then, within an hour, the system controller that we use to move the cameras around was taken out by a power outage! This has been a huge inconvenience for all of us. We keepers use the cameras to keep an eye on the pandas throughout the day. This helps us to know with a glance when the pandas need fresh bamboo and when they are sleeping and should not be disturbed. Additionally, as Megan has mentioned, the researchers use the cameras to observe the pandas’ behavior during data collection times. And, of course, our Multimedia Department uses the cameras to stream live images of the pandas through PandaCam. We still have some use of the cameras, but it is very limited. At the panda building we can no longer control which image is on PandaCam. This must be done at the main control center in the multi-media department. However, the main control center cannot move the cameras; this must be done at the panda building. Although we can still move the cameras around the enclosures to follow the pandas, it is much slower (the camera will only pan in one direction) and we have to crawl underneath a desk to do so – not as easy as before. As you can imagine, this is a complicated and often frustrating situation we are in. We apologize if you tune in to PandaCam and there is no panda on the screen. At the moment, it is easier to point the dayroom cameras at the middle of the room. If we try to follow the pandas with the camera, by the time we get the camera moved around, the panda has moved off screen again! We are working on getting the system repaired, but it is taking some time. Please bear with us as we try to work through these camera problems.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II
 |
|
| Will the next hit song be "Smelly Tree"? |
Monday, August 17
Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Well Xi Lan probably could, or at least he can chew a biscuit and climb the structure at the same time. As you may have read previously, we have been giving him some biscuits and banana as part of his diet, but it is not always easy to do. The reason, Lun! If she sees him with something or knows that he is about to receive a treat, she will take it away from him. We have to continually think of different ways and give it at different times, so that “missy piggy pants” does not take it away for herself. Today, after shifting him in from outside, I gave him a biscuit at the door and he ran away, trying to get up the tree before his mother got to him. Along the way I could see his mouth moving as if he was trying to soften it up, so that by the time that he reached the top it was nice and soft and easy to eat.
Joseph T. Svoke
Carnivore Keeper III
Friday, August 14
If you haven't noticed, Lun Lun and Xi Lan have been spending an abundant amount of time in the dayroom with the hammock. It's not that they prefer that dayroom, but instead, we had a problem with the other one. One of the legs on the climbing structure in the other dayroom broke at ground level. The structure was still solid enough for the adults to climb, but we weren't sure about Xi Lan. The problem was that we didn't want Xi Lan playing with the end of the broken leg and having Lun Lun climb up on the structure, pinching his paw or whatever else that was under the leg. Because the weather has been very hot lately, it has been difficult getting enough time in the dayroom to be able to replace the leg, because the pandas need the air conditioned space. The good news is, after weeks of searching for just the right log and having a nice cool morning, we were able to get the pandas outside and fix the structure on Thursday. I look forward to seeing Xi Lan and Lun Lun back in that dayroom today. It's always nice to see Xi Lan explore a new place, even if it isn't so new.
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores
Wednesday, August 12
The year after the birth of a giant panda cub is a quieter year for our department. We don’t have the time pressure of a 24-48 hour fertile period to contend with and the long hours, anticipation, hope and worry that come with waiting for a birth and monitoring mother and cub during the critical weeks after. The year after a birth we are able to relax a little and enjoy watching the new cub grow and learn. We have been relishing this time with Xi Lan just as we did with Mei Lan. All too soon a cub grows up, becomes independent from its mother, and is ready to begin the adult portion of its life. That is the case for Mei Lan.
Mei Lan will be three years old on September 6. Those years have passed very quickly for us. Next spring she will very likely experience her first estrous cycle, which means she is officially an adult. She will be ready to mate and hopefully have cubs of her own. To do this, she needs to move to a new home where there are potential mates available for her. And so, we have begun preparations to send her to the birthplace of her parents, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Mei Lan’s departure for China will be bittersweet for us. She is a member of our family, a favorite child. Sending her so far away will be difficult and we will miss her terribly. But we know it is the right thing for Mei Lan. She needs to have the opportunity to have a family of her own and we know she is going to a beautiful place where she will be loved and receive excellent care. It was bittersweet for the Chengdu Research Base staff to send Yang Yang and Lun Lun to us. Now the Research Base staff is looking forward to welcoming Yang Yang and Lun Lun’s daughter.
The date for Mei Lan’s departure has not been set, yet. We are planning for early 2010, so that she will be at the Research Base before her first estrous cycle. The Research Base staff probably will not try to breed her in 2010, but it will be a good learning experience for her to be around potential mates for her first cycle. We will update you periodically on plans and preparations for Mei Lan’s departure. We hope that you will understand that we too are sad about her leaving. We also hope that you will join us in celebrating her future at her new home.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
 |
|
| Who needs a hammock? |
Monday, August 10
As the dog days of summer are upon us here in Atlanta, our cool-weather bears are spending more of their days inside and out of the heat and displaying the typical seasonal behaviors of pandas. All of them are getting some extra Zzzzs and spending slightly more time sleeping during their daily routines of eating, resting and playing. Just last week, our adult male, Yang Yang, surprised us keepers and slept in until 10:15 a.m., reminding us more of an adolescent human than a bamboo-eating bear! Mei Lan has also enjoyed a greater amount of beauty sleep recently and never fails to make us smile when she sprawls out with legs akimbo in her den after lunch. Even Lun Lun, the ever-vigilant mother, has been found snoozing an hour away amidst the remnants of her midday bamboo, not even bothering to climb up into the hammock to rest after eating.
While Xi Lan has also been catching more shut eye, he has impressed us recently with his ever-increasing zest for bamboo. He is seen frequently now with a commandeered-piece of bamboo, chowing down on the leaves eagerly atop the branches of the structure in the dayroom. While he does enjoy his daily serving of leafeater biscuits and fresh banana, he has begun to show some preference for the taste of bamboo. Tonight, as Xi Lan came into the den he shares with his mother overnight, he bypassed the apple, banana and biscuits on the floor in favor of the crisp and dewy Henon bamboo that was propped against the wall. Wanting to confirm his gustatory choice, I dropped a biscuit close beside him. Xi Lan completely ignored this offering and continued his bamboo feast without afterthought. Lun Lun, who thoroughly enjoys her biscuits, appreciated his reserve and made sure that this extra biscuit did not go to waste. No doubt the extra bamboo he’s eating is contributing to how big he’s getting! Xi Lan weighed 22.7 kilograms today, roughly 50.05 pounds of pure panda cuteness. Perhaps he’s bulking up for his birthday pictures?
Allison Conboy
Seasonal Carnivore Keeper
Friday, August 7
You’ve probably noticed that sometimes when you are watching Panda Cam, the camera isn’t always on Xi Lan. In fact, you may have noticed that the camera is sometimes following Lun Lun instead. This is because Zoo Atlanta staff members collect data six days per week for a number of long-term behavioral studies. When the pandas are in the dayrooms, we use the cameras to remotely monitor their behavior. Because Lun and Xi Lan are housed together, we often need to monitor Lun’s behavior with the camera, instead of keeping the camera on Xi Lan. For example, the other day when I was collecting data on Lun, Xi Lan was off doing his own thing, but I needed to follow Lun so I could record her behavior. Although this resulted in temporarily losing sight of Xi Lan on Panda Cam, he quickly came back into view when he proceeded to initiate play with Lun. Other times, we’ll notice that Yang Yang Yang or Mei Lan are doing something particularly interesting or cute, and we’ll switch the camera to one of them for a while. Even though Xi Lan is the baby, we want to help you keep in touch with the entire panda family!
Speaking of family, the giant panda family at the San Diego Zoo has grown again! Congratulations to our colleagues in San Diego (and Bai Yun!) for another successful birth.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Carnivores
 |
|
| Checking in on Mei Lan |
Wednesday, August 5
Some of you may recall that I wrote about providing scent enrichment for the pandas a few weeks ago. I described how certain scents elicit self-anointing behavior from Lun Lun, Yang Yang and even Xi Lan; however, Mei Lan has never exhibited this behavior in response to scent enrichment. Until now. Last week, she was given mouthwash on an ice block and for some reason she started self-anointing with the scented ice block! It was odd but, also exciting at the same time! Why did she suddenly show an interest in this scent? Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to that, but I did try a little experiment. I wondered if Mei Lan responded to the scent because it was offered on an ice block, because she does like ice and plays with it whenever she gets it. Or perhaps it was just a fluke. So, today, I put a puddle of mouthwash in her overnight den and waited to see her reaction. To my surprise and enjoyment, she stuck her nose in the puddle, sneezed, and then rubbed some of the mouthwash on her head. She made another swipe at her head with her mouthwash-soaked paw and started to walk away. Or so I thought. She turned and flopped herself down in the puddle and started rolling in the mouthwash, using both paws to rub it on her head. he spent over five minutes playing in the mouthwash puddle. It was fantastic! I don't know if this means she will now be interested in other scents, but I do know there's at least one scent that she seems to enjoy.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II
Monday, August 3
Today, our panda cub Xi Lan made more strides to prove to us that his fast-approaching 1-year birthday is just around the corner. He is increasingly confident about bringing pieces of his mother’s bamboo up onto the structure in the day room to gnaw on and has mastered the technique of grasping the stalk of the bamboo in his mouth at just the right angles to maneuver his way to the top. Sitting up high with the bamboo, he looks very imposing indeed, and we guess he might be thinking of other uses for the bamboo, like as a means to stave off his mother’s disciplinary advances towards him. However, Lun Lun is definitely still in charge and makes sure that Xi Lan is learning the proper panda etiquette and minding his manners. In another demonstration of his “old” age, Xi Lan has been much more eager to shift to different areas of the panda building with his mother. He is more responsive to his keeper’s voices and is steadily improving in his abilities to move in and out of the dayroom without dallying. I can’t believe he will already be a year old at the end of this month!
In other panda news, Yang Yang, Xi Lan’s dad, had quite the visitor to his dayroom today. For enrichment, we painted a large, paper bag with Yang’s likeness on the front; his own, adorable face! We then filled the bag with hay and hid biscuits inside for Yang to find. Not surprisingly, Yang was very pleased with his new companion and made quick work of the bag and the biscuits. We thought that all of our hard-work on the painting had been lost, but as we cleaned his dayroom later in the evening, we were amused to find that the piece of bag with his image on it had remained intact! Perhaps, he had enjoyed his portrait so much he couldn’t ‘bear’ to chew it up? Doubtful, but a harmless thought of panda-vanity couldn’t be irrational. They are the some of the cutest animals we’ve ever seen!
Allison Conboy
Seasonal Carnivore Keeper
Friday, July 31
Lately I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with the meat-eaters in the department, so it was a nice change of pace the other day when I spent the morning with the giant pandas. As with most of the departments here at the Zoo, we typically clean in the morning. Unlike other departments, though, once we finish cleaning the building in the morning, we immediately turn around and start to cleaning again. By the time the building is clean, it’s mid-morning, when the pandas are often looking for more bamboo and biscuits. On Wednesday we first brought Yang Yang in the dens so we could clean the dayroom for Mei Lan, who had been outside for the morning. Once we had Yang Yang situated, we realized that Mei Lan was still sleeping, so we let her rest outside a little while longer. Then it was on to Lun Lun and Xi Lan. Lun Lun, of course, was ready for more to eat, so we moved them out of the dayroom to clean and replenish bamboo. Xi Lan was resting on the climbing structure when we brought Lun Lun into the dens, so it looked like we could be delayed at bit. But, when he heard Allison call Lun Lun, Xi Lan quickly climbed down from the structure and headed inside. Once we finished in the dayroom, we opened the same door for Lun Lun and Xi Lan to go back into the dayroom. He was a bit slower this time, because he decided to play with the door that leads from the hallway to the habitat (and at that time, Mei Lan). Once he realized there wasn’t much point to that, he walked into the dayroom to join his mom.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Carnivores
 |
|
| On the hunt for the sweet smell of Tabasco |
Wednesday, July 29
The pandas always seem to make the best of what’s around them and have a ball in the process. For instance, today we gave Lun Lun and Xi Lan a green weeble toy with “arms” made from Chinese elm branches cut down this morning by the Horticulture Team. Our little tree-person was then topped with a healthy dosing of Tabasco, one of Lun’s favorite scents. Upon discovering this, excitement between Lun and Xi Lan ensued. Lun grabbed at the toy, rubbing her face and chest over it to get as much of the spicy scent as she possibly could. Not wanting to feel left out, Xi Lan began to copy his mother and jumped up on the toy and began rubbing his chin and cheeks on the toy as well. Soon he was covered in the Tabasco sauce! Lun decided he would do just as well as the toy and scooped him up to her chin. Without ceremony, she began rubbing the little cub all over her chest, neck and back and using him to self anoint. It was quite a funny sight to see Lun using her cub as a sponge like that.
When Lun Lun was satisfied that she had gotten all the Tabasco she could off of him, and onto herself, she plopped Xi Lan down and began to hunt for the biscuits hidden around the day room. Xi Lan had so enjoyed this whole experience that there was no way he was going to stop playing then! He raced to the tree-person, rubbing himself vigorously over it again and then raced back to his mother as if to suggest that she use him as her Tabasco toy once more. Already distracted by the deliciousness of the biscuits and the bamboo, Lun opted out. Only a little disheartened, Xi Lan bounded off to imitate his mother once more with the scent, even rubbing his little Tabasco-soaked paws behind his ears to self-anoint like he saw his mother do. He is learning so fast and becoming a grown-up little panda indeed. That is, when he’s not needed as a spicy-scented ragdoll by his mom.
Allison Conboy
Seasonal Carnivore Keeper
 |
|
| The tree is panda approved |
Monday, July 27
Xi Lan continues to grow and topped the scale at over 22 kg this morning. Surprisingly, he actually weighs less than Mei Lan did at this age. It is not by much, but I thought it was interesting. He has been eating more bamboo then Mei Lan did at this age. He also seems to enjoy eating his biscuits and fruit very much. The difference might be that he just exercies more than Mei Lan did. She often slept the days away, whereas he likes to play with Lun Lun.
Joseph T. Svoke
Carnivore Keeper III
Friday, July 24
A big thank you goes out to everyone who donated money for our new ice machine! I’m not sure who has been more excited about it, the pandas or the keepers. Because of this wonderful gift, all of the pandas have enjoyed ice themed enrichment over the last few weeks. Xi Lan had a great time collecting ice cubes from a big tub, carrying them into his tree, playing with them and chewing them, and then returning for more. He made several trips one morning. Yang Yang received a tub of ice scented with mouthwash (one his favorites). He enjoyed playfully batting all of the ice out and spreading it over the ground. Mei Lan decided she liked the tub that held the ice best. She dumped out all the ice and played with the tub. Nursing mother, Lun Lun, focuses her active time on eating, so that she has plenty of milk for her growing boy. So, she hasn’t shown much interest in the ice, yet, but she did fish some pieces of fruit out of an ice pile. I know the pandas will continue to enjoy their gift for a long time to come, and the keepers will enjoy having more enrichment options for them. Additionally, the ice machine is available for other animal departments to use. The other carnivores have been enjoying the ice, too. Thank you!
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
Friday, July 17
Today the veterinary staff came to the panda building to do a routine visual check of Lun Lun while she and Xi Lan were in Dayroom 2. When the vets arrived, Lun Lun was a little preoccupied with eating, so she completely refused to come over to the window for the check-up, as well as for treats. Xi Lan, on the other hand, was more than willing to cooperate with us. He quickly descended from the climbing structure and headed over to the door where we were waiting. He is not quite tall enough to reach the window in the door comfortably, so he had to find an alternative method. Being a smart panda, he simply climbed atop the water bowl next to the door and leaned over to the window. We were more than happy to reward him for this by giving him some of the treats meant for Lun Lun. He took the biscuit and retreated to the water bowl to eat it, then returned for more. This process was repeated several times. When we were all out of treats, he climbed down to search for the biscuits and fruit that he had dropped. The vets weren't able to look at Lun Lun very well, but I don't think they were too disheartened, as they appeared more than happy to stay and help with rewarding Xi Lan. There is always tomorrow to check out Lun Lun.
Xi Lan weighed 20.6 kg this morning.
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores
 |
|
| King of the log structure? |
Wednesday, July 15
The pandas have been extra busy this past week, as their usual summer decrease in appetite has led to a flurry of playful exuberance. Both Mei Lan and Xi Lan have given us some memorable moments.
Although it’s steamy hot weather outside, the usual Atlanta summer, we experienced a unique “snowstorm” this week in the panda building. Mei Lan was given a box stuffed with shredded paper and fruit hidden underneath this. She made quick work of the box, tearing away to find the food inside. What we did not expect, however, was her excitement over the paper. Her own kind of snow! With great enthusiasm, Mei Lan began covering herself in the paper shreds and soon was looking very messy. She, nor we, minded though. I think we all enjoyed this July snowstorm.
Meanwhile, Xi Lan has been discovering bamboo and all of its possibilities. He has taken to hoisting big pieces of his mother’s bamboo up to the top of the wooden structure in the dayroom and ceremoniously attempting to gnaw on some of the leaves. Though we aren’t sure how much of the bamboo he’s actually consuming, it is extremely endearing to watch him try!
Allison Conboy
Seasonal Carnivore Keeper
Monday, July 13
I have been trying all day to think of something to write, but nothing comes to mind. The last few updates pretty much have covered everything that has gone on over the last week or so. Some days you hope that one of the bears will do something interesting so that you can write a blurb about their behavior, but nothing new happened today. About the only thing that I did differently today was to catch up on all the panda graphs that we create. As I am sure that you have read in previous updates, or even seen in person, we weigh and record everything that we feed to the pandas as well as everything that comes out of them and everything they don’t eat. Everyday this information is entered into the computer and at the end of the month we create graphs from all of the data. This just gives us another measure to make sure that the pandas are happy and healthy. It’s also helpful to have the data to compare with previous years if we think that the pandas are behaving differently, not eating as well, etc. It takes a little longer to do all this, but it can be a valuable tool for husbandry decisions.
Joseph T. Svoke
Carnivore Keeper III
Friday, July 10
I collected data on Tuesday and the giant panda building was a much calmer place than it was the previous week, when I last collected data. Although the pandas are still being a bit picky about their bamboo, they ate very well while I observed them. I first watched Yang Yang for an hour, and he spent the entire time eating. Then it was time to watch Lun Lun, and to my surprise, she ate for most of the session and then took a nap. It is uncommon for me to observe Lun resting in the late morning when I collect data on her. Although she typically does eat at that time, she often consumes some of the bamboo she has been given and then is looking for something new and different to satisfy her. Unfortunately for Lun, her nap was not a long one, because right when she went to sleep, Xi Lan woke up from his nap. He then proceeded to crawl on and bite Lun until she gave up on her nap and played with him.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Carnivores
Wednesday, July 8
Many of you have written asking about the progress of the Give So They Stay campaign, and many others have stepped forward asking about ways to help, so we thought we’d share an update. As of now, Zoo Atlanta has already received $43,000 in support of keeping pandas in Atlanta, and the campaign is only three weeks old! We also wanted to make sure everyone knew about two very exciting NEW ways you can help:
 |
|
| kickn' back, panda style |
First, you can dine out for pandas! HomeGrown Restaurant Concepts, the company who manages Stella Pasta Pizza Spirits, Doc Chey’s Noodle House and Osteria 832 Pasta & Pizza, is donating 15% of dining sales at select restaurants on Tuesday in July! Have dinner at Doc Chey’s in Virginia Highlands on July 14; Osteria in Virginia Highlands on July 21; and Doc Chey’s in Emory Village on July 28, and help the pandas with every bite.
You can also help keep pandas in Atlanta, just by purchasing or renewing your subscriptions to your favorite magazines! Now through December 31, American Publishers Hearst will donate 40% of subscription sales to Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda program! Visit the “Other Ways to Help” section on www.givesotheystay.org for easy directions you can use to make sure the Zoo gets a portion of your magazine purchases. Be sure to stay tuned to givesotheystay.org, as we’re always announcing new ways to help.
In news of Pandaland … we keepers have known for some time that Xi Lan is a clever little panda. For example, last night, he pulled a fast one on his mother. Since Xi Lan is getting his own portion of biscuits and banana, we usually have to separate him from Lun Lun when we offer those to him because she will take them away from him. We did this last night at closing; however, Xi Lan had not finished his biscuit when it was time for the keepers to leave and give Lun Lun and Xi Lan access to their entire night area. Of course, Lun Lun headed straight for Xi Lan (she knew he had a biscuit). Xi Lan saw her coming and seemed to cringe in anticipation of the biscuit theft. Lun Lun sniffed him over and walked away with nothing and settled for getting a drink of water. We were confused because we saw Xi Lan with a biscuit before we shifted Lun Lun. As soon as Lun Lun left Xi Lan and turned her back, Xi Lan popped the biscuit out of his mouth into his paw and started munching away again. Ha! He had hidden the biscuit from Lun Lun in his mouth! What a clever boy!
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II
Monday, July 6
Xi Lan was especially playful yesterday. Typically, he’s active from about 8:30-10:00 a.m. and then he has a long nap after 10:00. Yesterday, instead of having a long nap, he took a couple of catnaps and then went right back to playing. Lun Lun was the target of most of this playfulness. Xi Lan climbed on her and chewed on her and basically didn’t let her get much rest. She finally gave up on sleeping and they had a long wrestling bout.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Carnivores
Friday, July 4
Being summertime in Atlanta, the temperatures have been on the high side for some time now. Pandas, not being big fans of the heat, spend most of the summer relaxing inside in the AC. On most days, we will give Yang Yang and Mei Lan access to their outdoor yards until late morning, when the temperatures begin to soar. They will gladly shift off exhibit to come inside for some fresh food and some nice AC. Lun Lun will shift off easily as well, but the problem lies with Xi Lan. He is not a reliable shifter yet, so we don't want to risk putting him outside when it is so hot so early in the morning. If he stays outside too long, he would risk overheating. You would think he would have enough sense to come in out of the heat, but that is not the case yet. We were, however, fortunate enough to have a couple of days this week where the morning temperatures were in the high 60's. On these days, we were able to put Lun Lun and Xi Lan outside for the morning. Lun Lun wasn't really thrilled about going out first thing in the morning, as she really likes the dayrooms, but Xi Lan ran out and began exploring the yard. He came back inside several times to coax mom outside. Lun Lun finally went, and Xi Lan was able to continue his travels in peace. After about 2 hours of exploring, and a little wrestling with mom, we spotted him heading to the climbing structure ready to take a nap. This was our best chance to get him inside before he went to sleep and it got too hot. We opened the door and Lun Lun came rushing in, ready to go in the dayroom. Xi Lan gave the climbing structure a long look, but after a few minutes, decided to follow mom inside. Once inside, he immediately climbed his tree and took a long nap.
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores
Wednesday, July 1
We have had a heat wave here in Atlanta for the past couple of weeks, with most days reaching into the mid-90’s. However, yesterday morning was five or six degrees cooler than it has been in a long time, and there was a cool breeze, so Lun Lun, Xi Lan and Yang Yang were able to spend most of the morning in the outdoor habitats. Mei Lan was given a break from going outside yesterday. She tolerates the heat the best out of all of the pandas, so she has been outdoors more than the others lately, but even she has had enough of the heat after only half an hour outside these past several mornings. Xi Lan played and explored the entire time he was outside, while Lun Lun ate bamboo (or fended off Xi Lan’s attempts to play!). Yang Yang ate leisurely, occasionally taking a break to sniff the air or look around, seemingly enjoying the cooler weather. The pandas generally spend most of the summer indoors in the climate-controlled dayrooms or in off exhibit dens. So yesterday’s cooler temperatures afforded a nice change of atmosphere for them.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper
| < back to current panda cub updates | panda cub updates June - April 2009 > |
