A Winter Gift!
Posted at 2:47 pm January 2, 2007 by Ellie RosenbaumIt finally happened last month, with a little help from some friends. Su Lin came out of her tree and I was able to see her in all her glory! For this panda cub, timing seems to be everything and on uncountable morning and occasional mid-day shifts, the most common view of her is from below. Su Lin has been at her most active during the times that the San Diego Zoo is closed and we’re not there to witness it in person. But on this day, some staff who had rotated through the panda area earlier in the year stopped by to see their former charge, and she allowed herself to be coaxed out of the tree to be treated and admired.
There is much to admire in this little girl panda. She’s changed so much in the last several months it was like meeting a different bear. Even more assured, bigger, and incredibly skilled with bamboo, she took my breath away! It’s tempting to indulge in the family gathering refrain, “My, how you’ve grown!” and she has in so many ways. With about two months left before she and her mother Bai Yun separate, it was reassuring to see how ready she’ll be to face life on her own. And, as always, an incredible treat to see a panda cub being a panda cub!
May this time of year be filled with many such joys from your families.
Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.
Watch Su Lin daily on Panda Cam!
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January 2nd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Thanks, Ellie, for the update. I am glad you had such an exciting encounter with Su Lin.
Your comment about her being more active when the zoo is closed may explain why I saw her by herself late last night. She was playing and eating bamboo. She grabbed a big piece and dragged it up a small log. When I checked back a few minutes later, she was perched on the log, “hiding’ behind a small tree, and eating her bamboo. Bai Yun did not appear to be around anywhere nearby as she normally is.
Su Lin is such an independent girl, well taught by Bai Yun to select and eat her bamboo, and how and where to rest for privacy. It is easier to picture her on her own in a couple of months, compared to her “cousin” Tai Shan. He is his mother’s shadow most of the day, even though he also eats large amounts of bamboo. He likes his high favorite perches for sleeping, too.
Hopefully, at this time next year we will be watching their siblings start to follow their mothers around the exhibits and start learning their climbing skills. Oh, what exciting events we all hope to witness this year (times 3???)
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
What a silly girl. Today, around 2:30 or so, she was just “lounging about” in the branches. I’m mean REALLY lounging - on her back, legs sort of dangling, giving backward glances towards the camera. I swear, I don’t know how she does it - and make it look so comfortable all the while. She certainly is a very confident, smart little girl - with loads of charm and gracefulness.
January 2nd, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Thank you, Ellie, for the update on Su Lin. I was wondering: in reading your latest blog entry, you say she has about 2 months until she separates from Bai Yun. Where is she going to go? Is she staying there at the SDZ, or is she going to China? How do the keepers there prepare her and Bai Yun for this? Is there any anxiety in either of them once they are separated? Does, or will, Bai Yun go thru a period of looking for her young after she is separated from her? Will Su Lin look for her mother after she is separated from her? I will miss watching Su Lin and Bai together on the web cam. Thank you!!
January 4th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
It is so cute watching little “mini me” Su Lin sitting next to mom Bai eating their bamboo. She is getting so big - and looks just like a mini version of mom. What a doll!
January 4th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
So that means Su Lin will be weaned when she is 18 months old. I can’t believe Su is going to be weaned this year. I hope Bai Yun doesn’t miss her when she is weaned.
To Lainie: panda cubs have to be at least 2 years old to go to china.
Tai will be 18 months old in less than a week and i haven’t seen or heard any plans to wean him. Tai definitely seems to be attached to his mom to be weaned but then how is mei going to have another cub?
January 4th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Thanks for the update Ellie. Bai and Su Lin are mirror images I sometimes think. A wonderful Mum teaching her daughter just how to prepare and survive in the big wide world. Bai has now a splendid job and it shows.
Valerie - UK.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Su Lin, the “nocturnal” panda is having another late night snack. It does seem that it is easier seeing her down from the trees during the night than during the day.
I just read some sad news about Xiang Xiang, the captive-bread panda that was released into the wild. They said that he was injured in a scuffle with another panda over territory. They think that he has at least one broken bone, but can’t find him to decide if they need to treat him. Shi Shi was injured by another panda and that is why he couldn’t be released back into the wild. I wonder if another panda tore Gao Gao’s ear off. I’m worried about Xiang Xiang. I hope he can fully recover from his injuries. Please let us know if you have more information. Thanks.
January 5th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Here is a poem about Mei Shang:
Mei Shang is:
Excellent
Intelligent
Sweet
Handsome
Adorable
Naughty (somtimes) and just……
GREAT!!!!!
January 5th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Thanks, Jean, for the update on Xiang Xiang. I was just reading a story about him yesterday when a reporter accompanied a monitoring team in October. They had a hard time tracking him, but finally got a signal they thought was far away. Suddenly he appeared very close to them and was happy to see them. This did not make them happy as they wanted him to be afraid of humans and stay away from them. When it came time to leave, he did not want them to go and kept trying to keep them near him. The Jan. 5 news article said that he is now afraid of sounds and people and so it will be harder to find him. It is sad to think that he might be hurt. It is even sadder to think that someday that could be one of Mei Sheng’s offspring or even one of our US-born pandas yet to be born. It will be interesting to monitor if they have to bring him back into captivity for treatment like Shi Shi and Gao Gao, or if they can leave him in the wild. With the mating season coming soon, it will be important to see how he can fair in the wild, so they can prepare for the next release into the wild. I wonder how a female such as Bai Yun, who was also captive bred, would fare in the wild under similar circumstances. Since she has successfully bred naturally twice with Gao Gao, a wild-born panda, I wonder if she would fare better in the wild than an artificially bred, captive-raised panda female?