iZoofari Chat: Bear Awareness Days, Giant Panda Conservation
Posted at 3:51 pm April 17, 2008 by Dennis Corbran
Giant panda researcher Suzanne Hall gives us an update on how giant pandas are doing in the wild and what is being done to protect them in China. Hosted by Debbie Andreen. (15:00)
Watch pandas daily on Panda Cam…
Read blogs by Suzanne and others about giant pandas…
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April 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Omg!!!! This site is amazing!!!! I love little Zhen Zhen!!!!! She is just the cutest little thing God ever created on his green Earth!!!!!!!!
April 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am
Suzanne you did it again, provide us great information about these extemely adorable animals. It sounds hopeful that the pandas can be around for my grand and great grand kids.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:13 am
As with so much going on in the world regarding habitat encroachment, global warming, loss of forest and jungle, I can’t imagine how many species are being wiped out daily. Just thinking of bees, something we all have come across daily during warmer months, and hearing the plight of beekeepers and farmers, it’s alarming! This is something literally in our back yards! For me this is why it is so important to support our zoos, their education of the public and conservation efforts. At this time of year the zoos are mobbed with school trips - it is my hope that these children walk away with information that they use, and that they become rebels for the cause of helping save our planet.
I’m looking forward to visiting the panda reserves in China and on my way home, meeting the Gao’s in early October! ! ! !
April 29th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Dear Suzanne and Others.
I have a question based upon what I have observed at Wolong: is there a danger at this point in letting
Su Lin and Zhen Zhen be together at least part of the time? I know Z is quite small but is it likely that Su Lin would pick on her?
One of the striking differences between the set-up at the zoo and Wolong is that the pandas there, especially the juveniles get to interact and play with one another. I wonder how healthy it is for all the pandas to be separated as they are at the zoo, and yet I also know that there are surely some concerns about letting them all be together. Can you sort this out, including the reasons why Gao Gao is not allowed to interact with Bai Yun or Su Lin.
Do pandas get lonely and need contact with other pandas?
May 5th, 2008 at 10:14 am
JDC #4,
We will not allow Su Lin and Zhen Zhen to play together at this time because the large disparity in size between them could be problematic. Even unintentionally, Su Lin could easily injure her younger sibling. It’s not a risk we are willing to take. Additionally, the scent of Su Lin on Zhen Zhen’s coat could be a stressor to Bai Yun, and we do not wish to upset her during this critical lactational phase. Undue stress can have a negative impact on milk production in mammals.
In Wolong, bears of the same age class are allowed to socialize. When the bear is a mature adult, it often will spend time in large pens with bears of other ages, all of whom are also adults. Space limitations at the Chinese facilities often require this sharing of space. Fortunately in San Diego we have room enough for each bear to have a dedicated space. No need to share!
May 13th, 2008 at 6:43 am
I am so worried about Mei Sheng as I read the earthquake had hit Wolong where the giant pandas are kept. I cried I felt so bad when I read it. I would appreciate knowing if Mei Sheng was still there or had he been shipped elsewhere. I felt so bad when she was sent there anyway and now this. Thankyou for any news about that “sweet boy”.
NEWS UPDATE (May 13, 1:10 p.m.): Reports from China state that the pandas at the Wolong Center were not seriously affected by the May 12 earthquake. We do not have information about the staff, guests, or facilities at the Center and are continuing our efforts to learn how our colleagues are doing. Our research technician, Jennifer Keating, is safe and sound in Beijing.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Hello,
At this time I am very worried about what could happen to Mei Sheng.
It is a very well known phrase “never is good to put all the eggs in a same basket”
It is time to think in dividing the only refuge in multiple refuges to areas with smaller risks
We could lose all the reserve of panda
May 14th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Twelve Americans were found safe near the epicenter of the quake.
A spokeswoman for the World Wildlife Fund said the 12 members of the wildlife group were reached by satellite phone earlier in the day. The team was near the world’s most famous panda preserve in Wolong, whose pandas were reported safe Tuesday.
I found this online and thought I would send it. It made me feel a little better. I hope Mei Sheng and all the rest will be ok.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:21 am
News from Mainland China : After the earthquake, Hua Mei still stays at the panda reserve in Wolong. Mei Sheng has been moved to another place (not sure about the spelling : Beifengjing). Sources in Woloong confirmed that four pandas in Woloong Reserve are still missing. They may be too scared to run into the nearby forest. A few pandas got hurt because of the fallen woods. The panda cubs have been moved to the flat land (seemed sounded as ShaWen). The panda rescue team from the Central Government has stopped their rescuing work in the natural habitat of pandas in Chengdu and Wolong today as the afterquakes have caused more landslides. They have already rescued 40 wild giant pandas.
Pandas in captivity do not have enough bamboos, thus the panda cubs don’t have enough milk. Beijing Zoo has sent out more than 2500 kg of bamboos to Chengdu Panda Reserve.
My thoughts and prayers are for the victims in Sichuan and the giant pandas.
Sorry, I don’t know the pingyin of Putonghua.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:41 am
My friends and I are waiting anxiously for news on all the Pandas in China, especially Mei Sheng. We are praying they are okay. We are also praying for the citizens of China. We love our Pandas and try to keep-up with them daily. Please let us know if you receive any news. God Bless them all.
Moderator’s note: Our panda blog section has lots of information about this, especially in the comments area, where our readers share the information they’ve learned. Our latest blog update is at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/category/default/giant-pandas/
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Wishes and Prayers for all those affected by the earthquake and after effects in China. Being from San Diego I have a special connection with Hua Mei & Mei Sheng. Would love updates on Hua Mei as she was in Wolong? and all her babies? Mei Sheng? Staff shelter & food updates would be nice. Could you keep all of us inform on any breaking news.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:41 am
do pandas have coulered skin like some mamals
Moderator’s note: According to one of our panda keepers, the giant panda’s skin is white.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Suzanne: In the movie Kung Fu Panda, from my understanding, the master Kung Fu is also a panda. Do you have this species/kind of panda at your zoo?
June 15th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Originally, weren’t Shi Shi and Bai Yun to be in San Diego for 10 years? Has that time been renewed? Or extended longer since we have Gao Gao now and Shi Shi has gone home? It is so wonderful to visit them every chance I get when I go to San Diego - I’d hate to think our time with them may run out!
Moderator’s note: In 1996, the Zoological Society of San Diego entered a 12-year loan agreement with the People’s Republic of China regarding the collaborative conservation effort that brought giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo. Since that time, the loan agreement has been periodically revisited and renewed by both parties. In 2008, the Zoological Society will once again be working with the appropriate agencies in China and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to renew and review the existing loan agreement so that the collaborative work to conserve pandas both in the wild and in zoos may continue.
Due to the earthquake that recently occurred in China, meetings with government officials and panda conservationists in China have been delayed.
July 20th, 2008 at 5:44 am
OK!?im cofused how do you tell apart male names and female names to me they all seem like male names!!!?:(
July 29th, 2008 at 1:04 am
I LOVE PANDAS. they are soooooooo cute. i wish i could help in a way. i also wish that i could meet some pandas one day…………….I had a dream that i was a someone that helps pandas survive and during that dream there was 15 pandas born in one year due to new inventions to help make more pandas???
Are is there anything now that is helping zoos make more pandas??????????????????
Thanks
July 29th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Hi
i have to do an oral on pandas and why they are they extinct.. Is there any chance of you or any anyone giving me some interesting facts about giant pandas
Thanks
Moderator’s note: Our panda podcast chats and panda blogs http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/category/default/giant-pandas/ are great sources of panda information.
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Hi Suzanne,
Are you the researcher we met in Wolong? We were the only asian couple from NYC volunteering there for a couple of days and met a researcher from San Diego Zoo. I hope all went well with your research and you didn’t get stuck during the earthquake? It happened so shortly after we left but I know you were still there. I’m devastated to learn about “Mao Mao’s” death. So sad, she was one of the pandas we worked with.
Moderator’s note: Our researcher Jennifer Keating was in Wolong until shortly before the earthquake. You can read her most recent blog at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/congratulations-guo-guo/
August 18th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Hi there, I am due to visit San Diego in 5 weeks time. I visited the zoo for the first time last year and having watch ZZ grow up via panda cam please can you advise that ZZ will still be with her mum in mid September so I can see her in person plllleeeeeeaaasssssseeee?
Moderator’s note: She should be, unless something unexpected comes up.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I’ve not ceased my adoration and love for the Panda Bears. They have a unique look that make people just love them. If you say they’re bears, they are certainly not aggressive, but just mining their own affairs. They are called the living fossils. Thanks to all of you are in the professional of caring to get the giant pandas off the endangered list, but it’s not easy. Pandas International is the organization that devotes their work and effort to the giant pandas. Pandas in the wild need our help!
September 16th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hello there. I am just writing to say that I absolutely love pandas bears, and i’ve been watching them for a long time now. My dream in life is to come and see the pandas in real life in the zoo, which i plan to sometime. So i just want to say thank you to all for doing such a great job and the web cam!!!!
September 17th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Hi,
My name is Natalie and I am doing a 6th grade project on Pandas. I am from Newton Mass and would it be possible to email you directly?
Thank you
Natalie
Moderator’s note: You may send a written request for information to San Diego Zoo, Attn: Education Department Volunteer, P. O. Box 120551, San Diego, CA 92112. Good luck with your project, Natalie!
October 16th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Knowing that Bai Yun & Gao Gao have been together at the San Diego Zoo for some time and Mei Xiang & Tian Tian at the National Zoo in Washington DC have been together since young cubs and both have produced the best cubs, why don’t the zoos get together and introduce Su Lin and Tai Shan. They seem to have a lonely existence by themselves, when they could be growing up together like their parents did. We would all love to see them interact and play like Mei Xiang & Tian Tian.
Moderator’s note: Bai Yun and Gao Gao are not housed together at the San Diego Zoo. The only time they interact is during those few days when Bai Yun is receptive to breeding.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Hello,
I am a freshman at Westmont High School in S.J. CA. My science final is on endangered species. I chose panda’s because I was lucky enough to visit the zoo last summer. I found the panda’s very interesting. Our final requires us to have an interview, could assist in answering these questions?
Is it the panda’s habitat effecting panda’s becoming extinct or are they being hunted and how can we save them from extinction?
Is China the only country that panda’s originated from?
Do you know the population count of panda’s living in wild and in captivity?
I have read that panda’s live 30 yrs in captivity, but it is unknown how long they live in the wild, why is that? Thank you, Andy Rocha P.S. I appreciate your help with my questions.
Moderator’s note: Andy, we’ve sent your questions to our Education Department for a response.