To begin, we are slowly changing Mei Sheng’s diet to replicate that of what he will receive at Wolong. The pandas at the reserve are fed two loaves of specially baked bread made of soybeans, rice, corn, and bamboo flour in addition to apples, carrots, and bamboo. We are also working on getting him comfortable in his travel crate. Mei Sheng is already familiar and comfortable sitting and training in a squeeze crate, so the transition to this new crate has been uneventful. On the very first day he was willing to calmly sit in the crate while receiving treats, which include apples, carrots, and yams.

The next step in the process is getting him comfortable with being confined in the crate with the door closed. The tricky part with this is that the door lowers from the top so he has to be desensitized to someone standing on the top of the crate while he’s inside. An additional part of our training is introducing unfamiliar noises to him that he may hear while in transit, such as the back-up beeper of a truck and unfamiliar human voices.

On the day of his shipment, the crate will be loaded via forklift onto a truck and off he will go to the airport. Zoo and veterinary staff from both the San Diego Zoo and Wolong will escort him. While traveling, his in-flight meals will include specially packed boxes of his favorite bamboo as well as bamboo breads. To familiarize the Chinese keepers with our special bear, we will also be creating a DVD of Mei Sheng that will include his training repertoire and management.

Mei Sheng will continue to be on exhibit until his departure, so be sure to come by and wish him well on his adventures abroad.

Posted by the San Diego Zoo’s giant panda keepers.

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As for my project, I have counted up the numbers, run the calculations, and discovered some interesting things about the animals of East Africa. First, the Zambian sable I wrote about in my last blog (see Sable Antelope: Unwanted Roommates?) have fully settled into their new home. Although they had trouble negotiating the steep hills at first (their enclosure on Horn & Hoof Mesa at the San Diego Zoo was flat and their hooves kept slipping out from under them on the grassy slopes at the Wild Animal Park!), they are now moving about the enclosure with ease. Their new roommates seem to be accepting them as well. There have been no major changes in space use by the original residents, with the exception of the waterbuck, who are spending most of their time in a different part of the enclosure than usual, but seem to be doing okay despite their move.

The temperature data I collected showed that although the temperature in different parts of the enclosure varied (up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit at any one time), the average amount of variation was not sufficient to explain why animals use the areas they do. The animals’ decision about where to hang out seems to have more to do with the topographical features of the enclosure: giraffes like flatlands while Nile lechwe prefer hills and sitatunga stick to streambeds (as pictured above).

This fall I will return to Missouri to work as an intern at the Saint Louis Zoo until I (hopefully!) start a Ph.D. program in behavioral biology in the fall of 2008. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my summer experiences and have gained some insight into the inner world of the East African enclosure!

Blair Roberts is a Weedon Summer Student Fellow in the Behavioral Biology Division at CRES.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Blair as she talks about her studies.

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Once the sliding door to the crate was opened, Gram was very curious. He sniffed around very cautiously and made some typical snorting sounds. Those usually mean he is nervous or upset about something. This was a new challenge for him but he was willing to take it on. He stepped up into the crate slowly, looking all around. I went to the other side and called him in. I asked him to target with his nose as normal. He walked right up and targeted for a sweet potato. What a good boy!

Since Gram has such sensitive hearing, he was a little upset when one of the tour buses went by and he backed out. But he came right back in when called. It took a few minutes for him to get used to the sounds of buses, people, and all the other noises at the San Diego Zoo, as these things sound different from inside a crate.

He was given two days to get used to the crate, and then it was time to start feeding him inside. He now receives all of his breakfast every morning in the crate. He walks right in and starts eating. He will spend about an hour every morning right when the Zoo opens, munching away on hay and grain.

When it is time for him to back out I ask him to “back up.” He takes his time, as most rhinos do. They don’t have a very busy schedule! I tap on his legs to get him to back up. He has to make sure every last bit of hay has been consumed, so sometimes it is quite a lengthy process. When he makes it all the way out of the crate, he is given a piece of browse–a fig branch is his favorite–to chew on while the bar to the chute is replaced. He likes to come over and say hi as the bar is being replaced and I get to give him a nice big rhino hug.

Next week: more crate behaviors and a rhino physical.

Laura Weiner is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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As many of you know, pandas in managed cared routinely give birth to twins. In fact, they twin nearly 50 percent of the time–that’s a lot of panda cubs! However, in the wild, there are very few accounts of pandas rearing twins. A limited number of anecdotes of wild panda twins do exist, but in most cases they have not been verified. What is happening between the time of birth and weaning that is resulting in the loss of a twin?

There are many possible factors at play. For one, delayed implantation may be a culprit. Since panda cubs are thought to develop for only about 40-50 days once they implant, they have a very short window to go from a tiny group of undifferentiated cells to becoming a cub capable of making it “on the outside.” If the trigger that leads to implantation causes one potential twin to implant early, and the other a few days later, then at birth one cub could be more underdeveloped or weaker than its twin. As a result, it may not be strong enough to survive.

Another possibility is that it is just pretty near impossible for the panda mother to care for two. You who have watched Bai Yun with any of her cubs are aware of how intense a period the neonatal stage is for her. She is constantly cradling her infant, foregoing her own nourishment while she licks, comforts, and maintains her cub. She uses both paws to hold it, aid it in nursing bouts, and snuggle it close to her for warmth. Imagine how much harder it would be with two cubs. She would need more effort, and probably more paws! Two demanding infants needing her constant care might prove too difficult a task for even our super mom to handle.

Which is not to say she might not try. Several females in managed care have been observed giving it their best when they give birth to multiples. Some may even hold twins in their arms for a day or two before giving up. Frequently, these mothers are more prone to exhaustion, as keeping up with the demands of two cubs leaves them less time to rest quietly. Frankly, an exhausted mom is more likely to make mistakes… and historically, exhausted or stressed moms have been known to roll over onto a cub while they sleep.

In Wolong, there is always an effort to remove a twin from its mother’s care as soon as it is set down or rejected by its mother. The cub is then whisked away for intensive care in the nursery and, if healthy, will ultimately see its mother again when twin swapping commences. However, before such techniques were implemented, most twin litters resulted in one live cub and one that did not make it. Bai Yun is herself a product of a twin litter in which she is the only remaining “cub.”

We are pleased for our colleagues in Vienna that a cub has been born to them and that their female appears to be taking good care of her neonate. I know many of you have expressed concern over the loss of the twin cub she apparently had. Though I share a disappointment over the loss of the twin, I hope the information above will help you to place this loss in the proper context and understand this can happen anywhere you find pandas: in the wild or in captivity. It is part of the mystery of panda reproduction as a whole, something we continue to try to unravel with our research both here and in the wilds of Foping, China.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the Giant Panda Unit of Applied Animal Ecology/CRES.

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During the brief exam, the vets checked the cub for any abnormalities and collected measurements such as weight, length, and girth (boy, does that little cub have a round belly!). They reported that the cub is very healthy and that the heart and lungs sounded good. It weighed in at 23.5 ounces (666 grams) and is already 11.4 inches (29 centimeters) long from nose to tail. These measurements are comparable to those collected on its siblings at this age. During the exam the cub was quite vigorous, letting out a few loud squawks. The vets were still not able to determine the sex quite yet. Historically, they are able to confirm the sex of a new panda cub after the second vet exam. So we’ll all have to wait just a little bit longer to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. Personally I’m just happy to see that it’s so healthy.

During the exam, Bai Yun was in her sunroom eating apples and other treats. Once the exam was complete, the keepers quietly replaced the cub in the den. Shortly thereafter, Bai Yun returned to the den, picked up the cub and began cradling it. And since then, the two have been resting quietly throughout the afternoon. So it was a very successful first exam.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be here for all four of the panda cubs that we’ve had born here at the San Diego Zoo. So you’d think that maybe the excitement would wear off a bit, right? Well, it doesn’t. Seeing that little cub with its tuffs of white fur and its healthy little round body…it never gets old. In my very distinguished, scientific opinion… It’s so cute!!!

Pamela Crowe is a research technician with the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of Applied Animal Ecology/CRES.

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with the examining vet, Dr. Meg Sutherland-Smith.

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We’re all anxious for a physical, of course, if only to answer the question, “He or she?” It does get a bit awkward to refer to the baby as “it” (hardly appropriate for such an important little baby!), “the baby” (there are several equally charming babies in the Zoo), or “THE CUB.” And remember: we may all have to wait until the baby is 100 days old for a name to be announced.

How will the name be chosen? That has varied with each panda cub. Hua Mei’s name was chosen by the Chinese and presented by their ambassador Mei Sheng’s name was arrived at by discussions between the Chinese and Americans, and Su Lin’s name was chosen from a list of many by an online vote. What will the procedure be this time?

Keep watching this Web site for further news and information as it becomes available. After all, this is the time for watching–and waiting.

Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.

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Our oldest female, Kasai, has been a particular problem (see Marcia’s previous blog, A Very Special Okapi). She has congestive heart disease and has been maintaining very well on medication for many years. Frequent sonograms to check her heart condition are helpful, but have been stressful for her. Recently, her condition has progressed a bit, calling for an increase in her medication and probably more frequent exams. We want the procedures to be as stress free as possible, but Kasai has never enjoyed being rubbed and scratched as do some of the others. She also has refused to eat browse or take even the most favored food items from our hands.

We decided that something really needed to be done so our old girl could be as comfortable as possible. We started by raiding the Park’s Forage Warehouse for any vegetable or pellet that might strike her fancy (with the blessing of our Nutrition Department). Green beans, celery, kale, broccoli, collard greens - no luck. The last thing we tried was romaine lettuce. Nobody had much hope by this point, but as soon as she tasted the lettuce, it became clear we had found our reward item. She was so excited about the lettuce she was snatching it out of our hands!

Since we began rewarding her with the lettuce while in the ORB, she has made tremendous progress, allowing us to access most parts of her body and to desensitize the area on her side where the sonogram machine is used to check her heart. We practice with a wooden replica of the transducer (the part that touches her body) and have practiced applying alcohol to the area just as the vets would. Another important detail was to have unfamiliar people milling around while working with her in the ORB, to simulate conditions during an actual exam. The wonderful RVT’s (Registered Veterinary Technicians) from the Park’s Harter Veterinary Medical Center have helped us out with this; whenever possible they join us for the ORB sessions, and we also have other keepers around whenever possible. Often, an animal that is perfectly desensitized for a procedure completely loses it when faced with the reality of strange equipment and people in the area.

All the other okapis have been benefiting from this training as well. We make a point of introducing things like tool boxes, a small wagon, various boxes and bags, etc., so the unexpected appearance of strange objects such as veterinary equipment is not such a big deal. We have been concentrating on the females of breeding age so sonograms to check pregnancies become relatively routine for them. So far, all of the animals have made progress. As long as we continue our “lessons,” I’m sure that when a real veterinary exam comes along, our okapis will pass the test!

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

Read about the Zoo’s newest okapi calf.

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So how do you get 4000 pounds of rhino into a box? By operant conditioning, of course! Gram is trained to target (touch his nose to a buoy on a stick), lift his back feet, lay down, back up, open his mouth, give voluntary blood draws, and his most favorite, paint (he is pictured above with one of his paintings). He has created many a masterpiece for auction at Bowling for Rhinos and other fund-raising events sponsored by our keepers. So with all of these behaviors under his belt I had to train a new one. As with most of our animals, the most encouraging reinforcement for Gram is food. He enjoys sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, and bananas.

First we had to modify the chute area for him. An old door was removed and some of the chute cut out. We were worried that Gram was too big for the chute (we had to make the door larger on his barn as he grew) but he fits perfectly. The crate was repaired and lifted into place. A bar was placed across the door so Gram could see the chute and crate but not access it all the time. The first day, I removed the bar and asked Gram to enter the chute by using my target buoy. He entered the chute, touched the target with his nose, and was given a treat. He was very interested in the chute and the new view.

He continued to walk all the way into the chute and sniff around. Rhinos have very powerful senses of smell and hearing. He was a little upset when a guided bus tour went by and he backed out calmly. But once the bus had passed he came right back in. Throughout the experience I reinforced him for being calm in the chute. He even went up to the gate closing off the crate and rubbed his nose and horn back and forth on it. Rhinos love rubbing their horns on things!

For next time: relaxing in the crate.

Laura Weiner is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read a profile about Gram’s artistic side.

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The cub appears to be getting a bit more vocal now. Maybe it is really feeling full of itself now that its belly is always filled with milk and it has adjusted to life outside the womb. Although it is quite content to rest quietly in Bai Yun’s arms, or on the ground near her, it will also complain loudly if it is unsatisfied. We have noticed that during nursing bouts, the cub might squawk a bit more, as if to tell its mother it needs more assistance in getting to the nipple, or to complain while she licks it vigorously while it attempts to feed. At times, this mellow little infant seems plenty assertive.

The keepers and researchers will be ending their 24-hour watch of dam and cub tomorrow. This means that the Panda Cam image will be unattended at times. We will continue to monitor Bai Yun more intensively than when she is not with a cub, as we are studying the development of infant pandas from birth to weaning, and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to enjoy Panda Cam sessions with an attentive staff member at the helm of the camera.

But rest assured that our occasional absence is actually good news: it means that everyone, from veterinarians to keepers to researchers, feels secure that Bai Yun has done a great job of navigating this most critical time in a panda cub’s life. She has once again brought a young panda into the world and given it stellar care, and this youngster appears healthy and robust. So much so that the staff here feels that we can begin to get back into our own lives, see our families and friends on a more regular schedule, and get some much deserved rest ourselves.

Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician with the Giant Panda Unit of Applied Animal Ecology/CRES.

Listen to Suzanne’s newest iZoofari Chat as she talks about the cub’s first week.

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The move was uneventful. We simply opened the door leading from the maternity yard up the hallway to the exhibit, Safarani headed out, Sukari right behind her. Safarani is proving to be a model mother: patient, doting, and always aware of where Sukari is. Okapi moms sometimes dote too much, overgrooming the calf or overreacting to outside stimulus. Her keepers are very happy with how this first-time mom is taking care of her new charge.

Sukari proved to be quite the explorer, often venturing far away from Safarani to explore exhibit plantings, the hippos next door, or the acacia browse hung out for the adults to consume. After a couple of hours she settled down along the fenceline and went to sleep. When it was time to come in, keeper Jama Kasowicz herded the little one towards the barn only to find her balk at the prospect of passing through the gate. I was at the bottom of the hallway and couldn’t see them but the rising cloud of dust told me that perhaps a little help was needed. With an additional keeper and a little prompting, Sukari rejoined her mom in the maternity yard. The last two days have told us that Sukari is a quick study in adapting to her surroundings and routine, as she now makes the transition back to the barn with a slight touch from one of the keepers.

Our routine with Safarani and Sukari will likely remain the same for the next few weeks: Biscotti, our adult male, will be on exhibit from sunup through midmorning, then Safarani and Sukari until around 1 p.m., followed by Kelle and her 18-month-old son, Kidomo. Next time you’re at the San Diego Zoo, look for Sukari…she won’t be hard to find. She’ll be the little one running laps around her mom.

John Michel is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read a blog about Kidomo’s first herd meeting…

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