The facilities and the procedures at the Zoo ensures both the keepers’ and the animals’ safety. In most cases, there are always barriers between the animals and the people. More importantly, the keepers develop a relationship with the animals by using training techniques so that the animals will work with the keepers. This can make life easier for such simple and routine tasks as having the animal move into its bedroom so the keeper can clean the exhibit. The keepers also train the animals to present their teeth and feet for checking, which can make it easier to see if there are problems that might require a visit from the veterinarian.

The animals and the keepers obviously have a special relationship with each other. When the keepers approached, the animals would start to move around like they were excited to see them. While the keepers were talking to us, they were rewarding the animals by either feeding them or giving them the attention they wanted. In this setting, even an Alaskan brown bear or tiger seemed cute and harmless. The animals are comfortable because they know that they are safe and that they do not have to protect themselves, their young, or their territory.

Much more attention goes into the care and training of the animals than meets the tourist’s eye from a day’s visit to the Zoo. And much more attention must be paid to safety than I had thought in order for everyone to be safe while working or having fun at the Zoo.

-Hayley, Zoo InternQuest, Real World Team

Learning about Hearing from Polar Bears
Polar bears in San Diego are a startling sight to see. They are in a replica of their natural environment (the summer tundra, not the winter) so they are comfortable and well taken care of. But their size is impressive, and their play can be rough and rowdy. And these polar bears are doing something really unusual: taking hearing tests in their spare time.

According to animal care supervisor Gaylene Thomas, two of the four polar bears at the San Diego Zoo are part of a noninvasive project to determine the hearing sensitivity of the polar bears. Knowing how good their hearing is can help humans understand what might disturb them in the wild. These tests are a breakthrough in the scientific community as they are the first to be conducted with any type of bear species.

The point of these studies is to determine the effect of the noise from oil drilling machinery that is currently being used in or is proposed for the North Slope of Alaska. Concern arises because this is also a popular sight for the polar bears to den and raise young.

Ms. Thomas led us around the polar bear exhibit and behind the scenes, which seemed a most unlikely place for conservation of animals in the Arctic. She explained to us that the animal keepers train the bears to touch a wood block with their nose when they hear a noise. This would be difficult, impossible actually, to perform with any wild bears, yet in the long run will help the wild population.

Global warming is already affecting the environment of the arctic regions, resulting in changes in the habitat and shorter hunting seasons for polar bears because of thinner ice flows (they have to stand on the ice at seal breathing holes). These bears have recently been classified as “vulnerable” and if the noise from oil machinery is found to affect their behavior, we humans can take actions to prevent their status from becoming endangered.

- Sarah, Zoo InternQuest, Conservation Team

I knew that by the time I arrived, Bai Yun would be eating her bamboo lunch (pictured), and most likely I would find Su Lin high in the tree sound asleep as usual. Her brother, Mei Sheng, was busy with his bamboo. And sure enough, there she was, high in the tree, sleeping. I think she has her days and nights mixed up, sleeping during the day and eating late in the afternoon.

Su Lin is so independent compared to how her brother and sister were at this age. So we watch her sleep most of the day, just waiting for her to come down. It is hard to wait, but wait we must. I just don’t know how those branches hold her weight. She is 56 pounds (25 kilograms) now and it just seems impossible for those small branches to hold her, but they do.

As I chat with our guests they ask all kinds of questions about the pandas and I always love sharing the wealth of information we have gathered over the past 10 years.

Mei Sheng has finished his lunch and climbed up to his favorite spot to sleep. He loves the top of the concrete tree - we call it the Keebler tree - and this is his favorite hangout for sleeping. Some time after January 2007, Mei Sheng will move to the homeland of China. I know he will be fine in China; they take very good care of the pandas. Hua Mei moved to China in 2004 and has produced two sets of twins! We do have something made in the USA working in China: Hua Mei.

Come visit anytime, we would love to share with you the pandas on loan from China. And remember, you can watch Su Lin sleep in the tree at home on Panda Cam. Enjoy this wonderful place: come, relax, and take a moment to look at these rare animals from China right in your own backyard, the San Diego Zoo.

Kay Ferguson is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.

With over 1,800 living palm trees, the San Diego Zoo is proud to boast a very high concentration of unusual and exotic species from all around the world. Our large and varied collection of palms is accredited by the American Association of Museums, an honor in which the Zoo takes a lot of pride.

Ranging from tropical rain forests to deserts, the Arecaceae family is diverse and adaptable. The only thing that will limit the habitat of palms is extreme cold. Leaf structures are grouped into two types: palmate (fan) and pinnate (feather). One exception to this is the fishtail palm Caryota ssp, which produces bipinnate fronds. Like the famous coconut, many palm seeds are edible and can range in size from that of a pea to that of the 45-pound (20-kilogram) coco-de-mer palm seed Lodoicea maldivicia, which is the largest seed in the Plant Kingdom. A multitude of shapes and sizes, along with different shades of green, give palms their unique and sought-after qualities.

Some of the more popular palms at the San Diego Zoo are scattered throughout the grounds. As visitors walk through the entry gates, the main plaza opens up and they are greeted with a very large Cuban royal palm Roystonea regia (pictured above) on the shore of Flamingo Lagoon. With its stately concrete-colored trunk and lime green arching fronds, it’s hard to miss. When it’s time to go home, a group of them shade the exit breezeway. Having lunch at Sydney’s courtyard, you feel as if you are in a Middle Eastern date grove, with towering date palms Phoenix dactylifera overhead. In Cat Canyon, next to the hornbills, you will find one of the largest palms we have: an enormous fishtail palm Cayota gigas reaching upwards toward the sky. This palm has multiple, 30-foot (9-meter) bipinnate leaves that, like the common name implies, resemble many fish tails. Just about every area of the Zoo has palms except, of course, Polar Bear Plunge.

The San Diego Zoo’s gardeners take pride in maintaining and showcasing the ever-expanding palm collection here. With so many rare species growing at the Zoo, the Horticulture Department has put together several palm and botanical guides to help visitors locate our featured specimens. These guides are free and can be found at the main plaza to be used as a self-guided tour.

Seth Menser is a gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Seth’s previous blog, Climatic Influences.

As to the status of the panda population boom in China… Wolong has had another record year, with 17 cubs born thus far. They have had a number of interesting things crop up this year, including the first panda cub born with a harelip and the largest cub on record. Hua Mei did not give birth this year, and as it is getting late in the season it appears that she has decided to take a year off from maternal concerns.

The pandas in Chapultepec are, indeed, owned by Mexico. There are three aging females there. The oldest two may well be incapable of breeding now, due to their age, and the youngest has had some irregularities with her estrus cycle that may have contributed to her inability to get pregnant. Over the years the San Diego Zoo has worked with Chapultepec and the Ueno Zoo in Japan to try to get the females pregnant using the Ueno male, Ling Ling, as a father, but we had no success in getting natural mating or in developing a pregnancy from an artificial insemination.

Finally, some of you have noticed Gao Gao tongue-flicking on the Panda Cam. This is a stereotypic behavior that he has had for years, even before he moved to the Wolong breeding center in the year before arriving in San Diego. In our experience, this is a very difficult behavior to eradicate. I am pleased to report, however, that the frequency with which Gao Gao tongue-flicks has decreased since his arrival in San Diego in 2003.

Thanks for your interest and all of your great questions!

Suzanne Hall is the senior research laboratory technician for the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of Applied Animal Ecology/CRES.

Both Rimba and Mata have been crate trained in preparation for their move, and they are now both very comfortable in their crates. One of their new keepers from the Palm Beach Zoo will be flying out to San Diego before their departure date to meet them and watch some of their training sessions. I’m sure that she will be so excited when she meets them; I’ll bet it’s love at first sight!

On a different note, there will be one individual in Tiger River I think will be relieved when they are gone. Their mother, Mek Degong, has been pretty aggressive with her two adolescent boys. She is ready for them to leave her territory and find their own. This would normally happen in the wild when the cubs are between 1½ and 2 years of age. We separated her from Mata and Rimba two weeks ago when we observed her growling and chasing them away any time they wanted to be near her. This separation from their mom has actually been very good for them. They now feel very comfortable without her, so that is one less thing that will be different when they go to their new home.

After the brothers have gone to Florida, we are planning to reintroduce Mek and Awang Relak (the cubs’ father). The two adult tigers always chuff (a tiger greeting) when they pass by each other’s door, so we are hopeful that their reintroduction will go smoothly. If all goes well, Mek and Awang could be out on exhibit together in mid November. But, before that happens, please stop by Tiger River to say goodbye to Keemasan Mata (Golden Eye) and Asa Rimba (Hope for the Jungle). Their sweet personalities and crazy antics will be greatly missed!

Bridget Mulholland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

While the upgrade is going on, the majority of the Petting Paddock animals will be getting some R & R up at our Wild Animal Park. They will be behind the scenes, where the former Infant Isolation Unit and old hospital were located. The Children’s Zoo Paddock keepers will still be taking care of their charges and will make the drive daily up there to service, feed, and monitor the herd.

We apoligize for any inconvenience during the month of November for visitors who will miss their farm animal fix! But we hope you’ll come by after we are done and check out the new habitat for some of the most loved animals in the Zoo!

Nicki Boyd is an animal care supervisor at the San Diego Zoo.

Mina’s litter of three, now four months old, are also doing well (see Marcia’s blog, Youngest Lions Have 1st Exam). Kamau, the biggest male, weighs 32 pounds (15 kilograms); Zenda, the middle boy, weighs 28 pounds (13 kilograms), and sister Mandisa is a petite 24 pounds (11 kilograms). They are being introduced to their father while he is in the house overnight and has access to the introduction screen. As with Abena and Bakari, Izu has been very gentle and interested in his cubs. They immediately took to him, showing no fear of their 400-pound (181-kilogram) father. He has attempted to groom them through the wire and lies against the intro panel and lets the cubs play with his mane and tail. In the near future, Mina’s litter will be allowed on exhibit and Izu will probably share his time between both families. Having all eight lions together on exhibit is our ultimate goal; the next step is to allow Mina and Oshana and their litters time to become aquainted through the intro door. It will depend on how this goes whether or not the whole pride will be on exhibit together.

I will post updates as the situation changes. With two litters of growing cubs, there is never a dull moment at Lion Camp!

Marcia Redding is a senior mammal keeper at the Wild Animal Park.