An Insider’s View
Posted at 6:34 am September 16, 2005 by Suzanne HallSome of you have expressed an interest in knowing more about the people behind the scenes here at the panda facility. I thought I could provide you some insight into the staff here and what my typical day is like.
The panda facility is home to four regular keepers and five regular behavior research staff members. Interestingly, all but two of these people are women! Nearly all of us have been working with the pandas in some capacity or another for several years.
Now that the 24-hour postpartum period is over, I typically come in for early morning shifts that involve more computer work than panda watching. Although I still observe mom and cub three times per week (volunteer behavior researchers pick up the remainder of the shifts), I have many other responsibilities as well. I spend a lot of time working with a variety of datasets we have developed on different subjects: mother-infant relationships, sun bears, pandas, daily animal management, ambient noise, enrichment, scent marking, keeper feedback, and others. I also manage, recruit, and train our volunteer corps. It’s not so glamorous, but most of my work is more academic than you might think.
Today, I came into work at 06:00 and began the day by checking e-mail and phone messages to catch up with necessary correspondence. After assessing the status of our data (how much has been collected in the last few days? Is it summarized and ready to be entered into the computer? How much did my office assistant manage to enter in the computer yesterday?) and writing this blog, I’ll head into the back and check on Bai Yun and her youngster.
I’ll be observing them for two hours this morning… but I’ll be multitasking. I have a seasoned volunteer coming in to work with me to polish her skills in preparation for taking her own mother-and-cub observation shifts. I also have a new volunteer who is still learning the basic information required to become a competent observer for us. I’ll spend a lot of time talking with them and describing our ethogram and protocols (our list of behaviors and the rules for recording them) in light of what we see in the den. And during that session I’ll be manning the Panda Cam, trying to give you close up shots of the baby when possible, or a view of Gao Gao or Mei Sheng when baby is hidden.
After the observation, I’ll be back at my computer to take a look at my Wolong mother-infant dataset, which I am preparing for analysis. With the extensive amounts of data in that set, we’ll be able to write several scientific papers that will describe various aspects of the mother-infant relationship. That’s another part of my job, and one I’ll be spending more time with in the future: getting our information out there for other panda people to see. Our department presents the findings of the behavior staff constantly by generating reports, updates, and papers.
I often find myself missing the postpartum period, because it’s one of the few times of the year that I get to sit, hour after hour, and observe our animals. Funny, but while I sit in front of the computer working on my other tasks, I share a camaraderie with you folks out there: I, too, check the Panda Cam from time to time to see what is going on in the den!
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.
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September 16th, 2005 at 7:05 am
What a busy working day you have! So thank you for taking time, on top of all your other tasks, to keep us up to date with your pandas. I have been watching daily since Hua Mei arrived and feel like I have grown and settled into the routine of cub-care along with Bai Yun! However many times one sees this process, though, it never stops being magical. Please give your pandas an extra leaf-eater biscuit from me!
September 16th, 2005 at 7:17 am
Suzanne, I, for one, cannot thank you and your staff enough. I have been glued to the Panda cam since a fellow animal loving friend of mine sent me the link! I have, in turn, sent it on to all of my friends and we have found ourselves thoroughly mesmorized by Bai Yun and the baby. It’s been a fascinating tool for parents and children and we are all so very appreciative of all your efforts there in San Diego….thank you!
September 16th, 2005 at 7:38 am
Thank you!
September 16th, 2005 at 7:39 am
Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us.
Where do you get your volunteer observers?
September 16th, 2005 at 7:40 am
Suzanne, thanks for all of this information - Can you add some info on what background it takes to do your job, and that of others - lots of kids (and adults) are wondering….
September 16th, 2005 at 8:39 am
I would also be interested in what kind of educational background you people working at the research center have. Is it academic — what was the major (e.g. animal behavior) — or do you have more vocational training? Or both.
September 16th, 2005 at 8:45 am
Thank you so much for all the info you provide us. I got such a kick out of watching Mei Sheng, the camera was never still trying to follow him all around, and when you put it on Gao Gao you could probably walk away for the whole day and come back and he’d still be in the same spot, contentedly eating away. Too cute! The Panda Cam bring smiles to the faces of us who are stuck at a desk job all day. It’s the highlight of my day.
September 16th, 2005 at 9:13 am
It was so good to see Mei Sheng and Gao Gao this morning! Looking at Mei Sheng’s profile, you can see the resemblance to his mom. Is the “howdy door” the same place where Gao Gao and Bai Yun courted? Mei Sheng went to that area this morning for a brief peak. Thank you for your great work and for allowing us to watch the pandas via the webcam.
September 16th, 2005 at 9:24 am
Suzanne: Thanks for the info while doing all the hundreds of other things that you do. We all seem to be fascinated by this website….
September 16th, 2005 at 10:04 am
I was watching the cub @ 11 your time, she looked like she was watching what was going on outside the den….maybe her eyes are open!
September 16th, 2005 at 10:14 am
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MY CO-WORKERS AND I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THAT SWEET LITTLE GIRL AND HER MOM! WE TAKE TURNS KEEPING WATCH OVER THE BABY! LOL HER MOM IS SUCH A GREAT MOTHER! WE LOVE THE VIDEO AND WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH AND LEARN ABOUT PANDAS!!
September 16th, 2005 at 11:05 am
When is Mei Sheng going to be sent back to China? Can we negotiate with our Chinese friends to delay Mei Sheng’s return for two years so the new cub can play with her big brother ?
September 16th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Do you ever find some interesting observations or trends that don’t, in the end, turn out to be statistically significant? And do you then put them on a list, say, to examine in the future? I’m always interested to read in these blog entries about trends and questions that require further research. Thanks so much for the informative posts, which I enjoy almost as much was watching that adorable critter and her loving mum.
September 16th, 2005 at 11:19 am
It is a great website to panda’s fans. It is an interesting observation by the other viewer that Gao Gao seems to never move. Adult pandas seem very patient. I watch NZ panda cam, their panda mom can sit there licking the frozen juice for an hour or longer, just sitting and licking, no movement except the tongue. She looks so content and so adorable.
Thanks again for the wonderful weblog.
September 16th, 2005 at 11:22 am
I was watching the videos of the baby’s exams. Why does it seem that every medical exam is performed by a different veterinarian?? Is there a reason for it?
September 16th, 2005 at 11:58 am
Suzanne, thank you so much for sharing your working life with us. The love and care you show to the animals you work with is wonderful. Enabling all of us out here to come into the world of these wonderful bears brings so much joy to lots of us who for one reason or another are unable to get to your wonderful zoo. My thanks to you and your colleagues for making my day every day. Babygirl looked as though she was at swimming practise this morning hee hee !! Her little head goes up and down sometimes, is she fully aware of all sounds or is she tuned in more to the sound of Mum when she is outside?
Thank you so much once again.
Valerie Warburton - UK.
September 16th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
At what stage should we expect to see the baby start to walk?
September 16th, 2005 at 12:22 pm
What a treat! This morning was the first time I have seen Gao Gao on the outside. I saw Mei Sheng briefly before and it was a joy to be able to watch him for a long time. I have never seen Bai Yun outside the birthing den - I know she goes out. Maybe the cam can be turned on her sometime?????????
September 16th, 2005 at 1:15 pm
Suzanne, thank you so much for today’s blog about how your day goes. I’m sure all of us “Pandaholics” envy you your job. I have been lucky enough to see all of your pandas so far and am planning a trip to SD next year to see your new little girl. (Of course my daughter thinks I’m coming out just to see her.) I also was fortunate enough to see the original pandas that were in Washington in the 70s and want to plan a trip there to see their current panda family. We are so lucky that China has loaned us these wonderful animals even if we eventually have to send them back. Thanks again for all you do.
September 16th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK!!!!! AMAZING.. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SO MUCH WISDOM AND ENRICHMENT INTO MY HOME…ALL OF YOU THAT WE CALL A “TEAM”…IT’S BEYOND WORDS…THE PANDAS SEEM TO HOLD A VERY SPECIAL PLACE AT THE ZOO AND I GUESS IT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE RARE IN THE ZOO…WE ONLY HAVE A HANDFUL IN THE U.S…AREN’T WE LUCKY… AND FOR ME SAN DIEGO IS PRACTICALLY NEXT DOOR…WE HAVE ACCEPTED A GREAT GIFT AND WE ARE TAKING GOOD CARE OF OUR GIFT…AND THE GIFTS HAVE KEPT ON GIVING…(ALL THE BABIES) AND MUCH MUCH MORE…TO ALL OF YOU…THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR GIVING OF YOURSELVES SO THAT WE CAN REAP THE KNOWLEDGE, AND INSIGHTS OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL BLACK AND WHITE TEDDY BEARS WE CALL PANDAS!!!!
September 16th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
Thank you so much, Suzanne, for sharing your day with us on top of your busy schedule!
I can’t tell you enough how awesome you all are…
September 16th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
Thank you for giving us so much info.
Though I’m still puzzled… Mama promotes waste removal and scents baby by licking. So what do grown pandas do to groom themselves? How do they remove ticks and other parasites from themselves?
September 22nd, 2005 at 11:23 pm
I really want to say how much we appreciate your staff for putting in so much effort in taking care of the Pandas and setting up the webcam on Bai Yun and 2005 cub (I’m really forward for her new name too). My husband and I are now glued to the webcam from the moment we get to work in the morning til late at night (as we can watch what they really do during the day). It’s been so amazing to watch the cub grow bigger and bigger everyday!!!!
Thank you so much for showing us the detailed information.