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RussianPandas Keep Their Cool
Posted at 3:27 pm June 28, 2006 by Ellie Rosenbaum
It has been unexpectedly hot and humid in San Diego recently, which has prompted a lot of questions about the well-being of the giant pandas in the warmer weather.
San Diego County has different microclimates, many of which can be found within our Zoo! The Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station is located in a canyon in the coolest part of the Zoo. On any given day, summer or winter, it’s about 10 degrees cooler there than up on the front plaza. Sea breezes come up through the canyon in the late afternoon, and the trees and tall bamboos growing around the panda exhibit provide lots of shade for bears and visitors alike.
The panda viewing areas themselves are equipped with fans that can blow cool mist into the exhibits. Keepers can and do bring ice into the enclosures in various forms: as small treats, large “couches” for the bears to lounge on, or crushed ice replacing the water in their pools, perhaps with food treats hidden within. At the rear of the exhibit areas are off-exhibit “bedrooms,” and the doors can be opened, allowing the animals to nap on the cool concrete in air-conditioned comfort. Should this happen, the bears may be out of view or visible only via Panda Cam or the closed-circuit monitor in the viewing line. Their indoor bedroom “suites,” located within the research building, also have air-conditioned bedrooms, which, of course, can also be heated in the winter months.
In the wild, giant pandas are generally found at elevations between 4,000 and 11,500 feet (1,200 and 3,500 meters), and travel up and down the mountains as seasons change, moving lower in the colder weather and higher in the warmer months, although evidence suggests that pandas existed in much more varied climatic areas around much of China in earlier times.
The health and well-being of the pandas (Bai Yun is pictured above) and all the animals here at the San Diego Zoo is of paramount importance and you can be sure that our dedicated keeper staff monitors the condition of the animals in their care carefully and constantly, especially as weather conditions change.
Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.
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June 29th, 2006 at 7:20 am
Thanks again to the staff for easing our minds when it comes to our “babies.” Some of you have been asking about Shi Shi. I recently received an email from the zoo where he resides:
Dear Candy,
Shi Shi is quiet well at the present. Under the perfect care of the panda zookeepers, his health is, as usual, quite stable.
The weather in Guangzhou is pretty hot these days; 3 air-conditioners are running all day round only for Shi Shi. If the hottest days come, we will put a huge block of ice in the enclosure to make him feel cool. In the near future, our zoo will rebuild the panda house. By that time, Shi Shi will be living in a luxurious house.
Take care!
Wang Jing
June 29th, 2006 at 8:41 am
Thank you, Candy #1, for finding out about Shi Shi. It is good to hear that the “old gentleman” is doing as well as can be expected. Thank you to Wang Jing and all the panda caretakers for taking such good care of him. He is the #1 Honorable Father. Stay cool, Shi Shi.
June 29th, 2006 at 8:47 am
Ellie, I never see Bai Yun or Su Lin in the grotto. The grotto is supposed to have A/C with the temperature held about 65. Gao Gao and Mei Sheng have a grotto also and I have observed Gao Gao stretched out in it only once months ago. Is it not possible to train Bai Yun and Su Lin to go into the grotto? I have observed, on several occasions before, that Bai Yun will go over by their fountain, where the water has run over the ground, and lay down on the damp ground. On one occasion Su Lin got a little dirty in that area trying to play with mom.
Ellie responds: Gao Gao and Mei Sheng generally only enter the hollow tree to food search or shelter from rain. The cave in Bai Yun’s enclosure is not, to my knowledge, air conditioned and each of these shelters blocks the natural and fan-created breezes. The bears are actually cooler outside these shelters than inside.
June 29th, 2006 at 10:18 am
I am new to the Panda Cam. In area C4, I noticed one night a giant panda eating and then a much smaller Panda approach, cuddle up to the large one and appear to be breast feeding. Later the large panda left for a short while and the smaller panda starting munching on the bamboo. Then the larger Panda came back and found a comfy place to flop and sleep! Does this area have a baby panda as I saw? They are adorable!
Editor’s note: Yes indeed! You witnessed our panda cub, Su Lin, with her mother, Bai Yun. Read all about Su Lin in previous blogs, beginning August 3, 2005.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
I was delighted to see Su Lin sitting in the middle of her pool around 4 PM Tuesday when I stopped by the Giant Panda Research Station. She was moving her paw through the water watching the waves her movements created. She was having a great time on this 90 degrees afternoon and thrilled all the visitors.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Oh Carole #5, I am so jealous - that must have been an adorable sight. Just like a little kid - fascinated with the water! Our little Su Lin is such a smart little girl - I want her to stop growing now - and stay just the way she is right now - simply precious!
June 29th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
#4, Jennifer G.–Oh, the fun you will have reading about Su Lin, the panda cub princess beloved by so many pandamaniacs on this blog and all over the world, from her birth through all her adorable stages till now. You’ll also love learning about her wonderful mother, father, and big brother, and the terrific people at SDZ who make it all possible.
June 30th, 2006 at 3:19 am
Hi there Ellie and everyone,
Wow, do you take in room mates for the Summer? It sounds absolutely fabulous there. It is so very hot here where I live in the UK that I could do with being with our panda family hee hee. As ever their needs and of course the needs of all the animals at the Zoo are of paramount importance, as is shown every day by the wonderful staff.
I’m imagining all that you described Ellie, and so enjoying it hee hee !!
Take care
Valerie x
June 30th, 2006 at 8:21 am
Thank you, Candy, for the update on Shi Shi! I always enjoy when you pass that info on. He is still ‘Panda King’ and his one and only offspring, his lovely daughter Hua Mei, is doing a tremendous job of passing on his genes!
Love ALL of our pandas and look forward to celebrating Tai Shan’s birthday in 1 1/2 weeks and Su Lin’s in Aug.!!!!
June 30th, 2006 at 8:35 am
Amazing pandacam work this morning! Great shots of mom with her front paws and nose in the pool and Su Lin fanning her with a stalk of bamboo. They then moved on to play with a cardboard box together. Now it’s Bamboo Brunch with the girls. What a treat!
June 30th, 2006 at 8:53 am
I was concerned yesterday when I checked in on Tai and his mom in D.C. Mei Xiang was lying on the ground by her door to the inside; she was breathing or panting so hard that you could see her chest moving up and down like she had just run a mile. I left my computer for about 10 minutes and when I returned there were Mei and Tai all comfy and cool inside. This just proves that all of “our” babies are being watched very carefully. Good job to all.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:49 am
What a BUSY day Su is having today! Great job with the cam, she’s been all over the place today!
June 30th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Love the pandacam views this morning — the best in a long time!
June 30th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Is it still “Fridays with Suzanne”? I remember a while ago reading that she operates the cams on Friday mornings. Whoever it was…what a treat this morning (my lunch time) to watch our panda girls having a fun Friday. Thank you!
July 1st, 2006 at 6:20 am
Hi, from Spain
I Spent a long time with the webcam as snow fell in Panda territory some time ago, as a new fan I had never seen that before, so I am intrigued by some behavior from mei sheng and su lin, do you mind writing something about those activities on panda blogs?
Thanks
Olivia
July 1st, 2006 at 10:37 am
I’ve been enjoying the PandaCam and the blogs for so long; I apologize for not telling you that sooner! I’m a volunteer zookeeper at a small animal sanctuary in Northern California, and I’ve also held and cuddled a young panda named Jiao-Jiao at the facility in Chengdu, China…the thrill of my life!
I watched the cam on and off for quite a while yesterday (Friday). Is Bai Yun trying to wean Su Lin? Every time I checked back, she seemed to be “fleeing” from the little one who was determinedly pursuing her.
July 2nd, 2006 at 9:31 am
It’s so much fun to watch Su Lin trotting after her mom! Thank you for making it possible for us to enjoy, too…
I’m hoping to see all of our bears sometime this summer, when we have the SDZ 2006 Giant Panda Tour group reunion. What a lovely day that will be!!!!!
July 2nd, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Have you heard anything about the young panda that the Wolong facility released into the preserve a few months back? Please let us know anything you hear.
July 2nd, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Ellie,
I hope this is the person who was hosting the panda exhibit in the afternoon of July 1st. That was my first visit to the San Diego zoo. It was by far the best zoo I’ve been to and satisfied my passion for animals, at least for the day. The panda exhibit is really well done; I’ve never seen pandas in person before and the interaction with the mother and cub was great, however, what I enjoyed most about the panda exhibit was you. You probably get tired of talking about them all day but you did a great job, spoke well, and all together you are breathtaking. You are living my dream and, although it was brief, I really enjoyed my time with you. So if this is the right person, my email adress is gyasitaylor@yahoo.com. Email me
Gyasi
July 3rd, 2006 at 12:41 pm
I can’t make out Su Lin’s behavior and interaction with Bai Yun right now, but she seems to be playing in a pile of bamboo and wanting some attention/playtime with mom! It’s quite adorable to watch!
July 4th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
12:40 p.m. PST Four keepers in Bai Yun and Su Lin’s outside viewing area raking, picking up and hosing the area. Su Lin is on top of the grotto watching everything that is going on. When the cleaning was finished, the keeper with the hose came over to the grotto, Su Lin came over to the edge and received some spritzing with the hose. - this went on for several minutes. Su Lin evidently liked it as she remained right near the edge and did not move away. I would have liked to have a close up of this spritzing. When the people left, Bai Yun came from the far left corner to the Grotto and nuzzled Su Lin. The camera shot was so far away, I could not tell if Su Lin was getting an additional cleaning from mom. Then both went down to the fresh bamboo that had been provided. I noticed that Su Lin seems to be eating a fair amount of bamboo lately but loses interest quickly. I did see her take a very long fluffy piece of bamboo up in the tree to her favorite spot the other day. I suppose she is still nursing some but I have not witnessed this. I did see Tai Shan nursing a couple of days ago.
August 1st, 2006 at 12:27 pm
Happy 1st Birthday, Su Lin. It has been a joy watching you grow up on Panda Cam. You are quite the independent young lady, even more so than Tai Shan, as he seems to be pestering his Mom anytime I check on them!! This tells me little male pandas are more dependent on moms than females; is this an accurate observation?? As a native of San Diego, I support and am very proud of the work being done at the Giant Panda Research Station. Bai Yun certainly was and is a devoted Mom; humans can learn from her care and devotion. Have another wonderful year, Su Lin.
January 8th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I love pandas. I’ve never seen them close but I love them. I would like to meet them at the San Diego Zoo, but it’s impossible. They are the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen. I wish I could have one of them as a pet but it’s impossible, I know that. I’m so happy that at least I can see them on pictures.