Panda Teamwork
Posted at 1:56 pm October 3, 2005 by Don LindburgBringing the story of our giant pandas to the public is part of a larger effort to study their biology and to be successful in reproduction. Leading this effort is both exciting and sobering. As a high-profile animal, the panda places a heavy responsibility on staff to get everything right. From the day of the pandas' arrival in San Diego in September 1996, the entire organization has been energized and all who are entrusted with the pandas' captive sojourn eagerly strive to do their best.
Consider what it takes to do the job:
Keepers who handle all the complexities of day-to-day care"”feeding, cleaning, weighing, moving pandas from place to place, keeping records, collecting urine samples for hormonal analysis, training pandas to follow commands, leading tours, talking with the media, and just generally helping out everyone else who has anything to do with the panda program. Of course, their jobs are the envy of millions who would love to have daily contact with the animals, especially when a new cub arrives!
Veterinarians who constantly monitor the pandas' health and treat any
conditions that may arise. Next to keepers, they have the best opportunities to touch, handle, smell, and revel in a tiny cub.
Behavioral observers who systematically collect data on all that the
pandas do, analyze these data, and produce summaries and graphics used in reporting. They also train and coordinate a huge cadre of volunteers who provide countless hours of dedicated service to the effort.
Endocrinologists who analyze hormones in the urine of the animals and
tell us what is going on physiologically.
Reproductive physiologists who collect, analyze, and cryo-preserve
semen as necessary, and perform artificial insemination when natural behavior is deficient.
Animal managers who have general oversight of a range of day-to-day
activities from public access, exhibitry, and the provision of quality care to the less frequent but essential tasks of preparing permits and planning shipments.
Narrators and educators who tell the story of the pandas' experiences.
Public relations staff who help the media tell the story of pandas.
And so many more who are a part of the " team."
Many do not know that importation of giant pandas from China is permitted (by the U.S . government) only for scientific study. Neither breeding nor exhibitry provides sufficient justification for an import license. Fortunately, probing the biology of giant pandas is greatly
extended through reproduction, and good exhibits not only provide them with quality living space, but facilitates communication with our visitors.
One of the greatest needs is for coordination through frequent communication. Nothing serves our purposes better than to sit around the table as a team and deal directly with changing needs and objectives. Consider how our own behavior may change as the day gets warmer or the time that has lapsed since our last meal increases, and you will understand why the scientific staff insists on regularity in scheduling observations. Or, consider that veterinarians and keepers must do their work in ways that are both timely and convenient. Good will from all sides makes this possible, and probably no animal elicits more good will than the panda. To have a little bit of nature's grandeur in one's midst brings out the best in all who care about wildlife and the welfare of our planet.
Don Lindburg is team leader for giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo.
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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October 3rd, 2005 at 3:00 pm
Mr. Don,
Congratulations! Great team and great job. I'm proud to be a SDZoo member. Last April, I stayed here to meet Mei Sheng, my Baby Boy. I saw him sleeping up the tree. So cute and such a handsome boy. I want to come back before he goes to China and to meet a new princess.
Elisa from São Paulo, Brazil
October 3rd, 2005 at 3:13 pm
Thank you Mr. Lindburg for quite an educational insight on our beloved pandas. It is great to know that there are so many specialists involved in the continuity and preservation of San Diego's Zoo's most admired residents. I do love all the zoo animals but the pandas really have that extra special place in my heart. Thanks to caring individuals like yourself and all the others you mentioned, I will get to see these amazing creatures for a long time to come. Keep up the exceptional work!
October 3rd, 2005 at 7:23 pm
I accidentally posted on an old log, so I'll repost here.
I realize giant pandas are not fast enough to be great predators (perhaps due to their chosen or last resort diet, whichever it may be). Has the idea been explored to teach them to forage for native insects, amphibians, or ground nesting birds that aren't endangered? In your opinion, do they have the mental capacity to teach their young the same skills? It seems they would have more energy, carry more young (as their bodies are designed to carry up to 4 cubs and many animals' bodies decide how many young and willingless to mate based on health). Their energy would be boosted through more protein as well as not expelling as much energy eating and twisting bamboo all day. It would also make sense that they would become more social and less territorial as new bounties of food reduces competition.
While in training, it would help to increase their fish intake so they will have energy and an alert mind.
You've more than likely heard this before, but I've never heard any record of anyone attempting it. Maybe it sounds far fetched or it's been tried to no avail, or just seems unnatural. It may be that they, given the makeup of their digestive tract, that they were once hunters whose prey died off. Even if it were to fail in captivity, it would be great stimulation for the animal and educational in the way of knowing what they are capable of learning.
October 3rd, 2005 at 7:51 pm
I am infatuated with the baby panda, and can't go a day without a peek. I wonder, though, do they ever get to have a private time when there isn't a light shining on them? Thank you for bringing us this little miracle.
October 3rd, 2005 at 8:56 pm
I RAISE MY HAND FOR FIRST FOR ENVY!!!!!! TO TOUCH, FEEL, SMELL AND BE UP CLOSE TO ONE OF THESE BABIES…SO THROUGH YOUR EXPERIENCES AND THE WORDS AND PICTURES WE RECEIVE FOM THE " TEAM" I JUST PRETEND I WAS THERE!!!!
I DON'T THINK WORDS ARE ENOUGH FOR HOW YOU GO ABOUT YOUR JOBS, PROJECT YOUR LOVE FOR THESE ANIMALS IN SO MANY WAYS AND THEN SHARE THE OUTCOME WITH US..I'VE SAID IT BEFORE WE ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE THESE BEAUTIFUL BLACK AND WHITE TEDDY BEARS ENTRUSTED TO US FOR RESEARCH, KNOWLEDGE AND VIEWING.. SAN DIEGO ZOO HAS DEMONSTRATED ALL OF THIS IN CARING FOR THE BATTERED MALES WHO WE SEE DAILY AT THE ZOO, THE 3 BIRTHS, THE RAISING OF THE FIRST 2 CUBS AND NOW OUR LITTLE BUTTERFLY WHO HAS CAPTURED ALL OF OUR HEARTS ONCE AGAIN. WE WAIT EAGERLY TO SEE HER EVERY MOVE…
THANK YOU " TEAM" ….. FOR THE LOVE AND DEVOTION THAT SPILLS OVER TO US…
October 3rd, 2005 at 10:25 pm
1936 Ruth Harkness brought Su Lin alive to USA
1972 Nixon brought Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing to USA
1999 Don Lindberg and his team made Hua Mei born in USA
Dr. Lindburg , you and your team made a record in the pandas history of USA
I hope your next record will be the first born and grown to adulthood twin pandas in USA
October 4th, 2005 at 4:57 am
Thank you Dr. Lindburg for the great insight into the Panda " team" . And you're right, millions of us would love to be in the shoes of any one of you - preferrably a size 8 - ha ha! Seriously, thank you all so much for what you do. And I hope that at the end of each day, no matter how trying or frustrating a day may be (I'm sure they're all not just fun and games despite the cute factor of these sweethearts ), each of you feel proud and good about what you've done. Because what you, the folks in Washington, and others around the globe are doing for one of God's greatest creatures is nothing shy of incredible.
Thanks again.
Jeannie
October 4th, 2005 at 6:50 am
Thank you team for your hard work. I think I can speak for all of us following the Pandas through the webcam, we feel like we are right there along with you by the updates we receive. It's cool that we can live our animal interests through you. Keep up the good work.
October 4th, 2005 at 7:24 am
Thank you for your great job! I live in Poland and only in your panda cam i have chance to see pandas. I love all pandas in the world, but especially Great Mom - Bai Yun and ,of course her pretty, little girl! Once again - thank you San Diego Zoo!!!
October 4th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Dr. Lindburg, thank you for the informative account of those with a shared commitment to these beautiful, endearing animals.
October 4th, 2005 at 11:06 am
Regarding post #3, all animals are physiologically " designed" to eat only certain types of food, Pandas are hervibores, that means they can only eat, ingest, process and assimmilate plants and that is why they only eat bamboo which is the most abundant food in the forest they live in China. In captivity their diet can be enriched with certain fruits and vegetables that are higher in sugars/carbohydrates/nutrients that provide a supplement to their diet. However, their digestive tract is not designed to assimilate meat (that is why they have no need to be predators). It would be like we humans eating only grass, we wouldn't be able to digest the plant tissues because we are not " designed" to live exclusively on grass. Each species is adapted to the environment they live in a very specific and highly specialized way in order to take advantage of the resources around them. =)
October 4th, 2005 at 12:05 pm
Re posts 3 and 11 - pandas have the digestive system of carnivores and have been observed (and filmed) eating meat in the wild; their teeth are a little different from pure carnivores' teeth, or even those of omnivores, but they have the advantage of those powerful jaws that can crush bones as well as bamboo. Although they're not built for hunting, pandas will certainly make a meal of leftovers from another animal's kill should they stumble across it - in fact, they make the most of the opportunity and waste nothing, pelt included! If you watch them eat, they crush food rather than cut it, so I guess they wouldn't be able to hunt very efficiently even if they could give chase. I have seen film of a panda devouring the leg of a deer and it was quite strange to see, given that we consider them gentle herbivores - the panda was really going for it! Their cuddly appearance belies their strength…
October 4th, 2005 at 12:34 pm
We should add Bai Yun to the " team" list as it appears she is raising the cub singlehandedly as she did her previous cubs — no Dad or nanny to help out — 24/7 for 18 months.
October 4th, 2005 at 12:56 pm
Wow - I was watching the panda cam today between 1:30 - 1:45 or so - and our little girl was quite feisty. Not sure what was happening - but looked like Bai was either trying to nurse her, or maybe clean her, and she wanted nothing to do with it. She just kept squirming away. She's pretty big now, and looks like quite a handful. Bai finally won - but only shortly - as baby was back to putting up a fight. Maybe they were playing? It was hard to tell! It was quite amusing to watch… OK - back to work now!!
October 4th, 2005 at 2:36 pm
Very interesting discussion about panda's diets.. I learn something different every time I read these messages. I thought Pandas were only hervibores… Interesting they can also eat meat. I don't think they do it very often though.
October 4th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
Regarding the discussion of pandas' diets. I have read on this website that they have the digestive system of a carnivore. I have also read, somewhere, that they will eat rodents if/when they can catch them.
October 5th, 2005 at 5:34 am
At first, I thought the bamboo rat would be a fitting prey until I read more about them. As it turns out, the bamboo rat is also endangered. And with it being slow, big and nearly fearless, if the giant panda made a great comback, it'd be at the great expense of the lil guys. In fact, it'd be tough to find a protein diet in the Sichuan Province that didn't further endanger a mammal already on the brink. But still maybe amphibians and insects? They occasionally eat rodents, carrion, insects, and fish. I wonder if there has been a study into whether those pandas that eat meat more frequently breed in the wild with more success. Eating bamboo takes 14 hours each day with little payback or time for courting. I totally understand feeding them what they eat most often in the wild. I just wonder if their comback might be hastened by a change. Artificial breeding is obviously the best chance in captivity, but the ultimate goal seems to be to have them thrive in the wild without test tubes. It's bugged me for a long time and I hope the zoo team can explain why it might or can't work. The last zoo I emailed about the idea responded by saying only " Pandas do not have a problem with breeding." I won't be upset if I'm told I'm wrong and why, but that response was insanity.
October 5th, 2005 at 5:41 am
Here is some info about Panda diet from National Zoo website:
A wild giant panda's diet is almost exclusively (99 percent) bamboo. The balance consists of other grasses and occasional small rodents or musk deer fawns. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, a special high-fiber biscuit, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes.
A giant panda's digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and so much of what is eaten is passed as waste. To make up for the inefficient digestion, a panda needs to consume a comparatively large amount of food—from 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day—to get all its nutrients. To obtain this much food means that a panda must spend 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating. The rest of its time is spent mostly sleeping and resting.
October 5th, 2005 at 8:20 am
A kind of rodent lives on eating the roots of bamboo; the pandas in the bamboo forest sometimes try to catch them, however, the energy the pandas get from eating the rodents is far below what they spent on catching them. They are therefore not willing to hunt for these tiny creatures. Pandas of course would not reject a free lunch if they were lucky enough to stumble across some.
October 5th, 2005 at 10:00 am
As a general panda admirer, I have to admit I am content to just watch panda mom and babies. The way they look, walk, sleep, eat. We guess they like apples and carrots more than bamboo since Mei at NZ often eats carrots first.
It is nice to know that people are also worried about pandas' future in general. Hopefully all together, scientists and general community will figure out a way to help panda to be sufficiently self-sustained.
October 5th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
I don't know what is wrong, but I can hardly see the cub in the den–it is so dark. The only light is at the door of the den. Is it my screen, or is it really that dark in there? What can I do to be able to see them?
October 6th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
Okay……….so I want to be a keeper! Think it's too late for me to start now? LOL
October 17th, 2005 at 1:59 pm
Many thanks for your dedication to the conservation of Pandas. Another new baby? Many congratulations to your team. You certainly appear to have the balance right with your Pandas. Thank you for sharing your Panda family through the web so we are able to see your Pandas over in England through your link. What a great team you are. Keep up the good work. I am really envious of you being able to get up close & personal with your Pandas. Hey, if you need a new assistant to join your team, email me (Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!).
April 6th, 2006 at 10:13 am
I love animals very much and I'd like to say that you are a wonderful zoo…
Kisses, Celia