Nothing beats a swim for cooling off on a hot day. As mentioned in the earlier posted blog, Kinah Learns To Swim, Ituiri Forest’s local celebrity swamp monkey enjoys taking a dip as well! She has become quite the efficient swimmer. You can find her leaping in the water with gusto (cannonball!), leisurely paddling around, or holding her breath for submerged dives. She is often accompanied by her buddy, Jaribu, a quite attentive juvenile male. They actively wrestle, frolic, and dunk each other in the water. Then, just as quickly as they jump into the water, they’re out in a flash to sun themselves and dry off.

Another summertime favorite of both ours and the Allen’s swamp monkeys are popsicles! Popsicles are made for animals all over the Zoo. Keepers use pieces of fruit and/or vegetables. They are placed into containers with water for freezing. Ice trays work perfectly and pop out the most perfect monkey-sized popsicles! (For larger animals in the Zoo, you may see a popsicle that was made using a large bucket or even a trash can!) Kinah loves the ice cube-sized popsicles as they are a large treat for such a little girl, yet still small enough for her to grip. Her most recent popsicle was one containing a grape. She held the ice cube and worked at it until it melted and she was able to get out the tasty treat. It soon became obvious that, in the time for the ice to melt, Kinah’s hands were numb from the cold! She began clapping them together and rubbing them together much like we do in an attempt to warm our own hands. This apparently didn’t warrant the results she wanted as she then began to rub them on the log she was perched on. She even attempted to knock the feeling back into them by kicking them with her own hind feet! She was quite a comical spectacle, sending the crowd of guests (and her keepers!) into fits of laughter with her actions. Rest assured that, even though her hands were cold, she didn’t let that deter her from eating that cool grape!

Come cool off in Ituiri Forest with Kinah and her friends!

Kecia Spears is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

There is other evidence that Bai Yun is beginning to come out of her postpartum slumber. I watched today as the keeper loaded that sun room with bamboo, and in the den Bai Yun lifted her head and listened. As soon as the keeper finished and opened the door to the sun room, Bai Yun got up and went out to feed. She is beginning to pay attention to the sounds around her again, and is responding to activities around her in a positive manner. This stands in stark contrast to the early postpartum days in which we all watched her hunkered down in the den, oblivious to the outside world.

But these changes don’t interfere with her mothering instincts. On most of her forays from the den, the cub was quiet and rested in her absence. For one, however, the cub was very much awake, and after two minutes it complained with two loud squawks. Bai Yun heard them, and returned to the den immediately to pick up her infant. A long grooming and soothing session followed.

Look for more activity in Bai Yun’s sun room and bedroom in the coming days. A mother knows she must take good care of herself in order to take good care of her infant!

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.

Read blogs about other baby animals, including a fossa pup and an okapi calf, in our Animal Stories category.

There is also a growth of long, fuzzy white hair enveloping the youngster. These wispy tufts will help the infant panda keep itself a little warmer, so Bai Yun doesn’t have to work quite as hard to cover and warm the cub. As a result of this, Bai Yun is more and more frequently exposing the cub to the air of the den, relaxing her grip a little and stretching out while resting. The cub does not complain often, and has been seen resting in the open, strewn across it’s mother’s large forearm. When observing the cub during the resting bouts, one can see occasional twitching from the infant, little behavioral ticks that will abate as it ages and its neurological system matures.

The cub continues to be one of the quietest we have on record, even compared to those we have studied in Wolong. But Bai Yun’s newest addition does have a voice: we have heard it complain loudly at times when it is clearly unhappy about something. Fortunately, Bai Yun continues to handle the cub well, and it settles down easily into the calmer demeanor we are coming to expect from it.

After a regular pattern of den departures for a few days, Bai Yun took a hiatus from the great outdoors and remained sequestered from early Thursday evening until Saturday afternoon. She had a similar break in 2005 between days 2 and 6 postpartum, so this disruption to her den departure regimen isn’t entirely unusual. We still await her first good meal since the birth. Keep watching: maybe you’ll get a chance to observe this milestone when it happens.

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

Bai Yun is being more generous with her cub these days, allowing us to get more and longer glimpses of her neonate. She has also begun allowing the cub to slip gently to the floor occasionally while she rests. It will rest its back legs on the ground, with its forelimbs and head on Bai Yun’s paw. This quiet cub seems to be tolerating this transition very well. In one of my observation periods tonight, the cub was in contact with the ground 3% of the time.

All in all, the end of the first week of this panda cubs’ life is bringing with it the changes we would expect to see with a healthy and well-developing cub. Congratulations, Bai Yun, on another job well done!

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

Today I visited him in a new, bigger exercise room. Fossas remind me of a half dog/half cat-like adorable, yet feisty, creature. Today he was no more the helpless little neonate; now we have a curious, agile explorer who is fearless. Isa began exploring right away. No longer docile and wanting to be held all the time, he would scamper off to climb the nearest branch or run up and pounce on a toy. I was able to get his harness on and he didn’t seem to mind at all. He has charmed all the keepers and trainers and we look forward to working with him for future animal presentations.

Nicki Boyd is the animal care supervisor at the San Diego Zoo’s Children’s Zoo.

In addition to the above data, we also maintain a “den departure log.” This detailed record documents Bai Yun’s every absence from the den, what she does while she is gone, how long she stays away, and how the cub responds to her absence. We have records of this sort for both the 2003 and 2005 birth windows, and these provide us with a quick reference guide to compare this and any future post-birth periods.

We have three cameras in the den (numbers 13, 14, and 21), and each of these cameras has a dedicated VCR currently recording 24 hours per day. Every two hours we change out the tapes and catalogue them in our tape archive. These tapes may be used to extract further behavioral data, to allow the veterinarians and other staff to see images of the cub, and to allow staff to extract video and still shots from the den for you to see.

When we get the chance, we are summarizing our data in preparation for the data entry process. We pack boxes with recorded tapes to prepare them for storage. We are exchanging regular e-mails with progress reports about happenings in the den. We interface with the husbandry and veterinary staff for the same purpose. And we maintain the Panda Cam stream for the people who visit the Web site. We’ve become very good at multitasking!

And now for your panda news… At the moment Bai Yun is in a holding pattern, repeating her nightly den departures while remaining denned up in the daytime. During her departures, she most likely is seeking water, but last night she defecated for the first time since she was in labor. Her body is slowly beginning to return to normal. It will be some time, however, before she resumes a behavior pattern more typical of a panda unencumbered by a neonate.

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

Isa spends most of his waking time climbing and exploring. Gone are the days of his shaky excursions around his enclosure. Now Isa has two large exercise areas that he makes full use of. He only sleeps in the small cozy box cage that he shared with his brother. Each morning he is placed into one of two areas outfitted especially for him. Wooden perches have been placed so Isa can climb and reach vertical as well as horizontal areas. These wooden perches and ramps are secured at various angles to challennge his abilities. Some elevated shelves provide Isa a view of the surrounding area. He loves to climb up to the highest point and then survey the situation.

Isa’s body is now incredibly muscular and beautiful. Like a “buff” athlete, he is smooth and graceful. His tail plays a major part in his balance and is employed as a rudder or an extra anchor at times. He has many toys to play with but prefers his softer stuffed surrogates that he engages in mock battles.

In addition to his many physical skills, Isa has developed a unique personality. He loves to play and be held. He enjoys the times when we carry him around the nursery, viewing with interest everything around him. His vocalizations are varied and strange, many of them sound rather gremlinlike: high pitched or growling vibrations. He also has an endearing purr, which is much like a cat. This purr he reserves for his most content and happy times.

Isa also has received his first diet change to solid food. For now, we are feeding Isa four bottles averaging around 17 percent of his body weight each day. Twice daily, once in the morning and once at night, we offer Isa a taste of solid food. This feeding consists of a little canned kitten food mixed with water or his formula to thin it out. Isa has given this new food a mixed review: sometimes he eats a bit and other times he prefers to play instead. Whatever the case, we are generally covered with kitten food remnants after a solid food attempt. If Isa gets a little too much solid food in his mouth, he expels it by shaking his head vigorously, distributing the unwanted portion liberally over his keeper’s lap!

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper in the nursery of the Children’s Zoo at the San Diego Zoo.

During those departures, we got another good look at the cub. It still appears full-bellied and vigorous. Although continuing to be on the quiet side, we are hearing occasional strong squawking sounds. These are all positive indicators that the cub is doing well.

On some camera views, you can see that Bai Yun has piled a large quantity of bamboo at the mouth of the den. She did this before birth. We don’t know if she did this to increase her sense of seclusion, or if she was trying to improve the insulation of the den to warm it up. Or perhaps she did it by accident, just haphazardly dropping the bamboo there and never quite getting around to tidying it up before she went into labor. Although she has brought some large quantities of bamboo in to build her nest before, none of us can recall seeing such a mound at the den opening before.

For the first time, we have a temperature monitor in the den this year. Last night, her den temperature in the early evening seemed to stay constant at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (23.8 degress Celsius). Nice and comfortable. There are some crevices in the den through which air can escape, and a fan is installed in the top of the den to pull air in from the adjacent bedroom. The bedroom itself has air conditioning, so cool air is available to circulate into the den. This will be especially important if San Diego should experience a Santa Ana weather pattern, when the temperature can rise to the 90-degree mark.

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

She hasn’t eaten yet, though. With Mei Sheng, she waited five days to eat a little something. With Su Lin, it was eight days. So who knows? Maybe she’ll eat tomorrow, maybe a week from now. The keepers have set out fresh bamboo snippets in her sunroom, about 10 feet from the den door. If she is hungry, there is a snack ready and waiting for her.

The cub has continued to be rather quiet, but our visual inspections of the cub during the den departures revealed a vigorous, squirming, full-bodied baby. This cub is clearly getting fed, as evidenced by its round belly. It is strong enough to lift its head and scoot a bit across the den floor. It doesn’t complain continuously in Bai Yun’s absence, but is often alert and quiet. A very interesting little panda!

By the way, you might like to know that your view of Bai Yun’s den is a little deceptive. It may seem that it is well lit, as we can see pretty clearly inside. In fact, the light is actually an infrared illuminator that allows us to see in the dark. It’s really black as pitch in that den right now, and even during daylight hours the den is very dimly lit. We expect that this dark space mimics the needs of a wild panda dam, one that makes her den in a rocky outcrop on a mountainside. Deep inside a rock fissure there may not be a lot of light penetrating the floor of the den, and the dam relies on her ears and her fabulous sense of smell to locate her cub in the darkness.

Bai Yun is certainly doing the same. Very well. She steps gingerly over and around her cub as she leaves or returns to the den. Watch next time and see if you can see her circling the den interior upon her return, nose to the ground, locating her infant before picking it up carefully in her mouth.

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

Listen to an iZoofari Chat with Suzanne as she talks about the cub’s first days.