It will be very interesting to see how this develops. If condors chicks can be “taught” to fend for themselves, and so do wolves, then it seems reasonable that this cub will also. What I wonder is if he will ever be able to be around other polar bears and learn how to use his instincts to hunt his prey. If not, other than artifical insemination, how will he ever be able to successfully court and breed? His may always have to be a somewhat pampered life in captivity without ever being directly exposed to any other polar bears. Sad, but possible.

He is very cute, and seems to be thriving. I wonder how close his exhibit space is to his mother. If she can smell him, which she might be able to do, I wonder what she is thinking?

So, fellow pandaholics, the beat goes on, and on, and on. Now all eyes turn to Bai Yun, and her estrus cycle. Shortly we will all be glued to Memphis as Ya Ya should be nearing delivery in the next month or so. I have not read about any ultrasound results there, so I don’t know that they have yet be able to confirm a pregnancy or not. I know they are very optimistic and excited about the prognosis.

It sure never gets dull in USA Panda World. Always a cub milestone to watch, or breeding to be done, or birth to occur. Spring is sure in the air! They also inseminated a female elephant over the weekend, so the NZP vets have been busy. I imagine that SDZ and WAP vets are busy too, with births occuring every couple of weeks, and the loss of precious lion cub Mandisa.

Makes working even harder. This East Coast - West Coast timing is a challenge for working people. But it is worth every spare minute to get updated on the new members of the “conservation core.”

What an incredible job these researchers are doing!!!

I’ve never had any doubt that the care our animals get here is the BEST! GREAT JOB! I think we are in for a VERY exciting year!

Do they bleat at each other only when they are in the trees, or if one of them is up and one is on the ground? Can they hear clearly what the other is “saying” from such great distances?

It will be very sad when Mei Sheng has to go to China as he is the first baby we had the privilege to observe, and we at Mannford Middle School are partial to him. Don’t get me wrong, we have also observed Su Lin’s progress and are almost as fond of her as we are of Mei Sheng. It will also be sad when she has to go as well.

When will Bai Yun and Gao Gao have to return to China? Hopefully never.

You all are doing a wonderful job with these creatures. Keep up the good work.

Actually, Hua Mei was born in 1999 and Mei Sheng in 2003. Mei sheng was just a babe-in-arms when Hua Mei returned to China.

Ellen #31,

it is unlikely that Su Lin and Bai Yun will ever have much opportunity to interact again. Our philosophy is to mimic the wild situation as much as possible. In the wild, evidence suggests pandas do not usually associate with their young once weaning has occurred. The bears are exposed to each other via scent in the tunnels that they use to move from yard to yard, and this exposure mimics the way pandas would encounter scent in their wild environs, running across the paths of bears that had been there before them. Our tunnels even have a few “scent posts” areas where Gao Gao, in particular, likes to leave scent marks behind.