10/31/11~Xi Lan Wondering...~2.26 min. <Video link

...what is going on behind the door? It was a good opportunity to see him.


~~~ XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX ~~~

Panda Cub Updates


Wednesday, November 2
We are super excited about Thursday! Po is turning one. Please check out his reaction to his awesome treats and gifts which he will receive tomorrow around 11:00. He will receive the always popular ice cake and a present, which is a wrapped box with treats inside. Po now weighs 22.5 kg. That’s a huge change from his birth weight of roughly 100 g (we don’t know Po’s birth weight because we waited until he was nine days old to weigh him for the first time). Since I started working in pandas about three months ago Po has undergone other big changes. He went from trying to eat a small piece of banana to demolishing big pieces of banana. His climbing skills are improving every day. This morning I saw him climb to the very top of the structure in dayroom 1 with a piece of bamboo to enjoy. Usually, he drops it and has to work super hard to go back and pick it up. However, lately he is a balancing pro. Here is to the next year of growing up Panda!
Sheena
Keeper I, Giant Panda

Po had a wonderful 1st Birthday Yesterday

Panda Cub Updates

Friday, November 4
Po had a wonderful and fun-filled birthday yesterday. Best of all, he didn’t sleep through it! Po was hesitant when the party began, but soon jumped head first into the celebration! Lun Lun opened his present (a traffic cone donated to the pandas by a pair of admirers), but Po enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the toy itself. The cake was a hit with both Lun Lun and Po; in fact, they spent most of their time tussling over the frozen “1,” which had banana slices and pieces of sugarcane inside. Lun Lun graciously let Po win – it was his birthday after all! After the excitement of the morning, Po was worn out and took a long nap, but later in the afternoon, he played with all of his birthday stuff again. To top the day off, Po shifted inside with his mother at close, which made my day! Happy Birthday, Po!
Heather
Carnivore Keeper II

Happy Birthday Po!





ZA's photos above ^ & their video from Po's Birthday Party!
Po's 1st Birthday! < Video Link

11/3/11~Po's 1st Birthday Party~2.43 min. < Video link

Lun comes into the room first and opens his package and checks out the ice cake, but Po manages to get the #1 top part from her and keep it under him when she tries to get it back & works on thawing it quite awhile to get fruit out~he seemed pretty excited at his party, in 2X & Pt. 2 to follow.

11/3/11~Pt. 2, Po's 1st Birthday~4.08 min. < Video link

Po continues to enjoy his day~he did seem to sense it was his day! Happy Birthday Precious Po!

Panda Cub Updates


Wednesday, November 9
With all of the excitement of Po’s birthday, we still haven’t forgotten about his big brother Xi Lan. The other day Xi Lan got a special treat, too, when we gave him access to our off-exhibit outdoor habitat. At first he wasn’t so sure about the yard. It took a little time, and coaxing from the keepers, to actually shift through the doorway that leads into the yard. But once he got out there, he immediately set to eating the fresh bamboo that the keepers had provided. We gave him access, in case he wanted to spend a little time in the tunnel, and he took advantage of this a couple of times. But he actually seemed very comfortable out there. Now that the weather has cooled down, it will be nice for him and the other pandas to have an additional outdoor space to enjoy.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Mammals


Monday, November 7
Not much is going on in PandaLand today. Things are going back to normal after the excitement of Boo at the Zoo and Po’s birthday. You might see a new sight in the dayrooms or the outdoor habitats, though. We're going to start target training Po, so that we can help him to learn to shift on and off exhibit on command. Although he isn't really behind where his big brothers were at shifting on command at 1 year of age, Po definitely has his own ideas about when he decides to shift off exhibit with his mom. Normally, we stop going into the enclosure with the giant pandas after they're 1 year old for safety reasons, but Po is pretty good about not moving when we go in his enclosure. So much so that he doesn't want to come in at the end of the day, either! So, we are going to try training him to shift off exhibit using a target stick, which is basically a pole with a plastic ball on the end. Though shaping and positive reinforcement, it is out hope that Po will learn that he has to touch his nose to the target to get a food reward. This way we can guide him off exhibit safely when needed. This is all in theory, though! Po may decide that he loves this 'game' or he may just completely ignore us. It's all about trial and error and figuring out what works best with little Po.
Jen
Keeper I, Carnivores


is he getting trained here
I think gentle Po is a people-person

Panda Cub Updates

Friday, November 11
I was in China the last week of October for a giant panda meeting. At the end of the trip I visited the Chengdu Research Base and saw Mei Lan! He is doing really well! He was sleeping when I arrived, but his keepers tossed some fresh bamboo to him and called him to wake him up (he speaks Chinese now =) and that did the trick. He sat and ate bamboo for a long time while I took pictures and just enjoyed watching him. He looks great and seemed very content to me. His keepers said he’s eating well and is healthy. He is in the same enclosure that he’s been in since he was released from quarantine. All of the enclosures at the Research Base are nice, but Mei Lan’s area is especially large and lush.
It was interesting to see how popular he is with visitors. When visitors were told that the panda they were looking at was Mei Lan, most of them knew who he was and that he was born in the United States. When the Research Base staff told guests that I had known Mei Lan since he was born, I became pretty popular too and was asked to pose for pictures with some of the visitors. This reminded me of my old days in China. When I was collecting behavioral data at the Research Base and Chengdu Zoo for my dissertation, I used to be asked to be in pictures with Chinese visitors frequently. I think I appear in the photo albums of many Chinese families.
I spent most of 1997-1999 at the Chengdu Research Base and the Chengdu Zoo collecting data for my dissertation and other behavioral studies on the pandas. From 2000-2007 I went to Chengdu 1-3 times a year to train keepers and graduate students for data collection on studies. Chengdu was like a second home to me. Then I had a baby and took a break from traveling to China.
It had been four years since I’d been to Chengdu. It was great to go back and see all the changes in the city and at the Research Base. The developed part of the Research Base has nearly doubled in size since I was last there. I especially loved seeing my old friends. Some of them are pandas, like Yang Yang’s mom, Ya Ya. She was a favorite of mine even before she had Yang Yang. She was playing with two year-old cubs when I was there. I was so happy to see her playing with cubs. She’s such a great mom and my fondest memories of Yang Yang as a cub are of him playing with his mom. Some of my old friends are people. Two of my former Chinese research assistants have children now too. We spent most of our time talking about our kids. It was a joy to meet their children and to see my friends as parents. I hope to take my daughter to China in a few years, so that she can meet my friends and their children too. I hope Mei Lan will have fathered some babies by then that she can also meet!
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Mammals

11/11/11..together, playing, smelling messages and scenting back replies ~ Po seems to be learning the ropes, literally~with his gr8 strength & balance of course he would

Panda Cub Updates

Monday, November 14
Xi Lan had some exciting days this week. We began to use an off exhibit outdoor area to provide the boys with a little extra space. Yang Yang has been in this yard before, but it was brand new to Xi Lan. I have known Xi Lan to be the most adventurous of pandas and when we showed him the new yard for the first time he did not let me down. He walked right up the new hallway and entered into the yard. He walked around and smelled all the fresh bamboo growing in the yard for a long time before settling down and trying to figure out how to eat it. He has always been provided with precut bamboo, so trying to eat it while it is still in the ground was a new experience. His technique is pretty unique. He grabs a piece of bamboo and then lays completely flat on his back and bends the bamboo to the ground. Then with his back and front paws he holds onto it and tries to eat the leaves. He manages ok except for when he lets the piece slip through his paws. This ends up surprising him and he has to search for a new piece. I’m sure in a few days he will figure out how to snap the bamboo off and eat it just like Yang Yang.
Sheena
Keeper I, Giant Panda

11/11/11~Po & Lun Together~7.38 min < Video link

Po with his usual gusto, seems to be learning the ropes, literally {& so, enjoying them better }~with his gr8 strength & balance of course he would {a little short in the stature though}. After the 2.45 min. mark he balances himself, standing on one side making it more difficult, of course, while jerking it in & out, and shaking it with his paws on the other side ~he likes a challenge/ on the edge, . Lun likes to help him down, & get a hug here and there.



11/11/11~Pt. 2 Text-Messaging 101~2.14 min. < Video link

The video starts out with Mama Lun scenting/messaging on top of Po & then his head. But as usual Po is receiving & sending with his normal gusto ~to the hilt He is so cute seeking & replying/rubbing scent on the ground to the beat/rhythm of the music, .