Designed to reach out to girls that might not otherwise be exposed to professionals in the science fields, the program is currently in its fourth year of existence. In the past, participants have learned to bandage up stuffed animals at the Zoo’s hospital, pollinate orchids, feed giraffes, necropsy “dead” fruit, and collect panda urine samples (okay, it was water with green food coloring…). They have also examined blood samples in the pathology lab, made enrichment items for meerkats, and assisted with sun bear observational research.

Each semester is capped off with a weekend-long camping trip, and two years ago, we instituted a spring field trip, as well. Our first field trip was to the Wild Animal Park, where the girls got to participate in a Photo Caravan Safari tour, meet elephant keepers (and elephants!), visit Lorikeet Landing, and spend a little time just wandering around.

Last spring, for the first time since the program started, we graduated nine “Four-Semester Participants!” Four semesters was, at that time, the maximum number of terms that any girl could participate. Our students have moved on to various high schools around the city and, as alumni, will be invited back to participate in our camping and field trips.

Keep watching for weekly updates! Our girls’ adventures will be regularly posted right here!

Cindy Spiva-Evans is an educator at the San Diego Zoo.

Girls In Science is a program for Roosevelt Middle School girls which creates science-based experiences with professional women at the San Diego Zoo. The program is funded through the generosity of the Wells Fargo Foundation.

The little bird—a forest dweller the Hawaiian people call “po’ouli”—was treated delicately and with respect. Dr. Rideout carefully saved the little body so it could be shipped back to its home in Hawaii, to be preserved as a museum specimen. It was sitting in the Pathology Division’s walk-in refrigerator, in a small plastic bag, waiting, when I arrived at work the following morning.

I reached over and picked up that little bird, in its little bag, and thought to myself, “My word. This is it. The Very Last One.” I held that small bird in my hands for several minutes and wept for the loss, not only of the one small bird, but for an entire species, which will never again grace the Earth with its presence.

As you will know from reading other postings to this Hawaii Bird Project site (see “The Essence of a Species”), the San Diego Zoo is actively involved in trying to help preserve endangered species from all over the world. We are privileged that, even in death, we can learn from the animals with whom we share our planet.

I must offer, too, that the Zoo has provided me with perhaps one of the most powerful and moving experiences of my life—the experience of seeing, and holding, The Very Last One of something. I hope it is an experience I will never have to repeat.

Cindy Spiva-Evans, an educator at the San Diego Zoo, worked on loan as a pathology technician.

Here’s more information about the po’ouli.
Here’s more information about the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Before birth, one of the biggest changes we make is to develop a “quiet zone” in the area around the panda facility. The staff places a moratorium on noise-making activities within a certain radius around the building, so that Bai Yun is not disturbed or startled by any sudden or unusual sounds. We even put a halt to routine noises, such as the sound of the street sweeper that usually passes by several times each morning, because we are aware that our female panda may be particularly sensitive around the time of birth.

After birth, the quiet zone remains for a period of time to ensure Bai Yun can recover well from the birth experience and that she does not feel any stress while attending to her new and fragile cub. Once Bai Yun returns to her normal routine of interacting with keepers, feeding regularly, and making long trips from the den, we lift the quiet zone and allow regular activities around the facility to resume.

As the cub ages, we begin to address other things that may be necessary to safeguard the cub. For example, we limit the type of enrichment items we give Bai Yun. We may not give her a very large object to play with, to ensure it doesn’t wind up (accidentally!) on top of the cub. In our old exhibit spaces, we cushioned the moat in the front of the area with hay to ensure that if Hua Mei slipped down she would have a soft place to land (but since our new exhibit spaces don’t have moats, this isn’t necessary). We also reduce or eliminate the water in the pool areas to prevent any swimming fiascos.

I am sure that many of you have children of your own and can understand the importance of baby proofing your living space. Rest assured that the San Diego Zoo’s animal staff is also concerned with such things to protect the animal “children” we are charged with caring for!

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

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.

The vets were especially interested in the X-rays of the cubs’ teeth. The cubs’ dad, Awang Relak, came to the San Diego Zoo with a very serious dental problem which took many surgeries to correct. We were all concerned that his offspring might inherit this problem, so I started checking the cubs’ mouths for tooth eruption beginning at four days old. When their baby teeth started coming in, I was able to measure and record the growth of their canines and any new dental eruptions on a daily basis. I continued to do this until just under three months of age, which is when they started getting a little bit too feisty. With that information, and now the current dental X-rays, we are feeling pretty confident that Mata and Rimba don’t have their dad’s dental problem.

Bridget Mulholland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Tiger River exhibit.

She again was a perfect patient, very calm and mellow. Based on the other two panda cubs born at the San Diego Zoo, this will probably not be the case for long, now that her eyes are opening! But for now it was fun to enjoy a sleepy, pudgy baby panda while actually doing my job and collecting developmental data.

Beth Bicknese, DVM, is an associate veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo.

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.

Bai Yun is out of the den for longer stretches now, feasting on bamboo and resting in other areas of her behind-the-scenes quarters. As I type this, she has access to her bedroom, which is immediately outside the den, as well as a sunroom, garden room, and a stretch of the tunnel. The sunroom is an area with no roof, so she can get fresh air and sunshine, while the garden room has no roof and has a luxurious carpet of fresh grass, grown long during the denning phase when Bai Yun ventured out of the den so infrequently. The tunnel space provides her even more room to move, and is a precursor to the next step: access to her classroom off-exhibit area.

Giving Bai Yun access to the classroom is a bit of a milestone in the postpartum period. Since it’s a lush, complex area with trees and shrubs, climbing structures and ponds, shade and sun, it provides her with many natural substrates and opportunities for exercise. It also allows her to be far from her cub, about a 30-second walk (by panda standards) which offers her the chance to really escape for a time. The chance to climb and exercise will be much needed for Bai Yun’s physical health, as the inactivity of the last few months has left her a bit flabby, but the chance to have a few hours alone will do her some good as well. Any new mom can attest to that!

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

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.

The first day on exhibit for Keemasan Mata (which means Golden Eye in Malay) and Asa Rimba (Hope Jungle in Malay) went very well. The two boys followed their mom, Mek Degong, out onto the exhibit and stayed up top near their den while Mek explored the territory. After she had checked out the area, Mek headed back toward the top and chuffed to Mata and Rimba to come down a little bit further. A chuff or chuffle is a tiger greeting or a content tiger vocalization. That first day the boys were playful and curious, but also a bit cautious. The waterfall near the lower viewing window scared Mata somewhat, and he hissed and ran away after seeing and hearing it.

Now that they have been going out for two weeks, the cubs appear to be much more comfortable and they can be seen tumbling with each other all around the exhibit. We put up a few barriers or guard rails along the areas of the exhibit that had steep drop offs for just that reason—sometimes the boys will be playing so hard that they will tumble together into one of the barriers!

At noon every day I bring Mek and her cubs back into their den so that I can put one of our other tigers out in the exhibit. Mek is always ready to come inside, but sometimes Rimba and Mata have played so hard that they are too tired and don’t hear me calling them. A few times I have had to go out on exhibit (after Mek has shifted off, of course!) to wake them up. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to go in with them as they are getting big really fast. When I come back to work after my weekends, I am always amazed at how much they have grown in just two days!

Bridget Mulholland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo’s Tiger River exhibit.

See video of the cubs’ debut.

Today during our weekly vet exam, our vets confirmed that our cub’s eyes were beginning to open! Her weight this week is 5.4 pounds (2.45 kilograms). The vets also commented that she has a new tooth out on the left side of her mouth (lateral incisor). This will be an exciting time to watch our Panda Cam and see how our girl begins to respond to her new world!

Kathy Hawk is a senior keeper on the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Team.

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.

Something about these beautiful cubs just makes you feel in awe and starstruck at the same time! Our girl was very good for her exam; she is getting so big. In fact, next week I will have to hunt up another weighing box for her as she is rapidly outgrowing the existing one!

Over the years I have really learned alot about how to handle these cubs, especially during the vet exams. It is important as a keeper to find ways of comforting and keeping the cub quiet and free of stress as they go through their examinations. Spending time watching Bai Yun interacting with her cub, touching it and holding it in various ways has helped me develop “skills” in handling the cub and keeping her quiet. I look forward to the day when our girl starts to open her eyes and see this big world she is living in. Of course, as one of her keepers, she will get to know us and that is when the real “magic” will begin!

The San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Team.

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.

I found her healthy and, honestly, very endearing. The baby had nursed a short time before our exam, so she was very compliant and a little bit sleepy, but at the same time, healthy and responsive. Her official panda black-and-white markings are solidly developed. Panda cubs are born about the size of a stick of butter, but quickly gain weight from their mother’s rich milk. Since her exam last week, she has increased her body weight by 30 percent, which is quite a weight gain over one week! She weighs just under 2 kilograms at 1,996 grams. That is right around 4 1/3 pounds. It takes two hands to cradle her solid body now.

Everything is developing along fabulously. I was able to palpate her baby teeth below the gums, but none have erupted out above the gum line yet. Her eyes are still closed, but the lid development suggests that it will be just a short time before her eyes open and she is able to see the world. When she was born, her ears were flat against her head; now the ears are getting more erect like an adult panda and her ear canals are opening. With these changes, she is sensing more and more sounds from her environment. Listening to her chest with the stethoscope, she has a strong and stable heart. Her belly is soft and round, which is something we like to see. A round belly tells us Bai Yun is being a good mom and the baby is nursing well.

Like most bear-type cubs at her age, she tends to have her legs out to the sides, not underneath her body (and looks sort of like a bearskin rug!). She is doing well, with more strength in her arms, and she is able to lift her chest and head off the ground as she is taking in more of her environment.

From a medical perspective, the baby is developing perfectly normally at this point and doing great. From a personal perspective, I found her to be quite enchanting and an excellent patient!

Beth Bicknese, DVM, is an associate veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo.

View Bai Yun and her cub on Panda Cam
See our slideshow images of the cub’s latest exam
See video of the cub’s exams.