iZoofari Chat: Panda Cub’s First Week
Posted at 10:30 am August 16, 2007 by Dennis Corbran
NEW! iZoofari Chats are an occasional series of interviews that put you in touch with the people who work for the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. Current subscribers to either the Zoo or Wild Animal Park podcast feeds will also get the iZoofari Chats.
As Bai Yun’s newborn cub grows, panda researcher Suzanne Hall fills us in on how the new cub’s progress compares to others, and gives us some insight on how pandas take care of their young. (12:23)
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August 17th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Suzanne - Thanks once more for your continuing to educate us about this wonderful animal! We know how busy you are and still take the time to keep us updated. LOVE these chats!
August 17th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Hi Suzanne -thanks so much answering so many questions all us panda lovers have about our latest cub. It sure looks like well fed & well cared for - & seems to be growing like a weed.
Thanks for all you do for this beloved animal
August 19th, 2007 at 3:02 am
Thank you Suzanne. In 2 weeks I will be going to China to volunteer at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre. Hearing all the things you spoke about has been so interesting for me. We will be spending 5 days there and to already know things that I hadn’t read elsewhere e.g. 4 teats 2 of which are not used until the cub is older, was soooo good. I can’t get enough info before we leave lAustralia. Keep up ther great work that your zoo has always done. I used to watch the program ‘San Diego Zoo’ a long time ago when I think we only had black & white TV in Australia.
Thank you again for giving us the time and information. Only in this way can knowkedge provide power and hopefully extend the lifetime of the panda.
August 19th, 2007 at 7:45 am
My thanks to our granddaughter who lives in Texas for telling me about Panda Cam. Friends and family have been informed about this wonderful experience of being able to watch the Panda’s progress and listen to your informative chats. We are getting such joy from this. You are doing a super job. Thank you.
August 19th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Robyn #3,
I should clarify for you that we don’t see Bai Yun use all four teats often in the early stages of the cub’s life. Two possibilities remain: she is using them, but we just don’t see it (recall the cub is well hidden early on); AND, other pandas may use them all. Bai Yun is just one mother panda among many.
Good luck in Wolong. Say hi to Hua Mei for us!
August 20th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Thanks, Suzanne, for answering all those questions, although I’m an avid cam watcher, it’s nice to hear the information conveyed so clearly and concisely for us lay folks. Very interesting about the vocalizations and how quiet this cub is. It is a pleasure and a priviledge to watch Bai and her cub on the cam; thanks for sharing them and this information with us. Bai has really let us see quite a bit of this cub.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Thanks Suzanne for taking time to multitask and explain to us what is going on in the early weeks of the cub’s life. As always, you have given us great education and insight into the inner workings of the panda’s lives.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Suzanne, thanks for the update on what Gao Gao is doing, and where he is behind the scenes.
In addition to eating, sleeping, climbing trees for naps and to view the wider area of the zoo, what do Su Lin and Mei Sheng do during their daytime hours? Do they ever interact with, or “play” with, enrichment items? Most of the enrichment I have ever observed with them on cameras is climbing various structures or trees, and on their birthdays and other “special” days exploring new enrichment items that appear to have been placed in their exhibit spaces. However, I have not observed them “running” around, or rolling or somersaulting as I have observed Tai Shan and Mei Lan doing. Is it because of the nature of their exhibit areas, or their personalities? I have read some of the comments from keepers and staff about Mei Sheng interacting with humans and his love of attention and “scratching,” but not much has been written about Su Lin. Does she basically just eat, sleep, and sometimes explore the ponds, similar to Gao Gao? In the wild, one would think that pandas would encounter some opportunities to “explore” as they search for new bamboo areas in which to eat, and for places in which to rest. Do they tend to rest in the open around their bamboo source, or do they go to rock caves, or hollow tree trunks as you have in your exhibits? Much has been written about young cubs climbing to sleep safely while their mother is out foraging. This would explain Mei Sheng and Su Lin’s great proprensity to spend many hours in trees.
Mei Lan doesn’t have a very high place to climb, but she spends most of her time up as high as she can get as well. Does it appear that a cub’s natural instinct is to start climbing as soon as they are able? If I recall correctly, it was several weeks to a couple of months between when Bai Yun brought the cubs out into the exhibit and when they started to climb. Where does a mother panda tend to “hide” her cub once they leave the den if they are still wobbly on their legs and can not yet climb?
September 10th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Thank you to all that helped