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Tuesday, February 6
Being the swing keeper for the Large Mammal Department here at Zoo Atlanta, I get a different perspective of the pandas than the panda keepers do. I not only work with the pandas, but also with the elephants, cats, rhinos, and hoofstock. Because of my other keeper duties, I only get to see Mei Lan 1 to 2 times a week. I am amazed at the progress she has made every time I see her. Just last week, we saw her climb the mesh of the dens for the first time. She did this slowly and didn’t get very high. Now I look at her for the first time since then, and she appears to be an old pro, going faster and higher. Climbing over the thresholds of the doorways used to pose a problem to her, but as I look at her now, she tackles them with ease. Also, the last time I saw her, she was walking very slowly, making very deliberate steps, while still being somewhat wobbly. This week, I was stunned to see how sure footed she has become. Not only is she faster, but she is walking with much more confidence and purpose. Her play intensity and awareness of her surroundings has also increased greatly from what I saw last time. With all of that being said I can only assume that next week, she will only out do herself again. Until then, I can only look forward to catching my snapshot of her again.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III

Monday, February 5
Mei Lan is getting more and more comfortable in the day rooms as each day goes by. Yesterday, she spent about six hours out in the day room with her mom Lun Lun, much to the visitors delight. She spent about three hours of this time sleeping, but the rest of the time she was playing with her mom, attempting to climb, and just exploring the area. Today, it seems she may follow a similar pattern, as she has been on exhibit since 9:30 am EST.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II

Saturday, February 3
He paused in the doorway, aware he wasn't alone in the dim, off-exhibit area. Too far away to get help if he needed it, and the only person in the building, his feelings of being hunted worsened. The beast was about...

Knowing it would use all of its powers to lull him into complacency before it attempted to attack, he cautiously scanned the area, looking for any signs of the unseen pursuer. Then he heard them; the careful padding of footsteps. Was he being stalked? Was the creature aware of his presence? Not knowing made him wonder just how much time he had left. He considered bolting for the door, but knew that would automatically trigger a chase response. Then a shadow appeared from behind a stout metal panel, and he froze, knowing now it was too late to do anything. He'd been spotted, and now just hoped he would survive.

The beast suddenly rushed from the shadows towards him, and he could see the glint of shiny, sharp teeth as she opened her muzzle, preparing to pounce. Suddenly, the mass of fur and claws reared up on her hind legs, and he opened his mouth to scream as she raised both sets of mighty claws to leap towards her hapless victim. And instead he burst into laughter as his little panda cub fell over backwards instead, not yet quite strong enough to follow through on a full pounce. Relieved and entertained, Mei Lan's keeper talked happily to his teeny black and white stalker, before leaving to go feed her always hungry and demanding mother.

***Yes folks, it really happened (with perhaps a trifle extra drama on my part). Mei Lan loves her caregivers, and now tries to stalk, pounce, and play on the other side of the bars. JUST when I thought she couldn't get any cuter...
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III

She's sturdy and spunky

Friday, February 2
As I write this, Mei Lan is triumphantly sitting on top of her mom in the dayroom. This play behaviour is wonderful to see, and highly entertaining. But the best news in all of this is that for the past two days, Mei Lan has spent more time on exhibit. When we put her out in the morning, she usually comes right back into the dens, her off-exhibit "safe zone". But yesterday and today, Mei Lan played a while in the back, and then gamely went back into the exhibit in search of mom. Today Lun Lun actually looked quite surprised to see her. Mei Lan was out until almost noon yesterday, and we'll hope today follows a similar pattern. This could mean that our little girl is getting more comfortable on exhibit, so can be seen "in person" more often.

You'll also notice, on Pandacam or here at Zoo Atlanta, that Mei Lan is chewing on many things. This is normal "teething" behaviour. As well, she has been climbing anything she can (see mom reference above). For the first time on Wednesday, we saw her climb up the den mesh and off of the ground!!! Apparently those little rear legs are getting stronger. I have seen her climb the mesh a couple of times today already, and Mei Lan seems to be revelling in this newfound skill. As always, we do watch her carefully. When she does climb and the falls down, it may look like she's hurt, but baby bears are REALLY sturdy. She will be okay, and we'll be there to make sure.
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III

Thursday, February 1
Mei Lan received another brief health exam this morning. All exam findings were normal for her age. She currently weighs 19 lbs. She also received another booster vaccine. I don’t think she was even aware of it since she was investigating an enrichment toy that we used to distract her. Body measurements were difficult to take since she was much more interested in rolling around on the floor with her toys then standing still for measurements. Despite her lack of cooperation, she is in good health and continues to grow and develop physically as expected.
Dr. Maria Crane
Vice President of Animal Health

How do Lun Lun and Mei Xiang measure up?

Lun Lun and Mei Lan

Mei Xiang and Tai Shan Photo courtesy National Zoo (FONZ)

Monday, January 29
We have started to make some comparisons between Lun Lun’s maternal behavior and that of the National Zoological Park’s female, Mei Xiang. Trained staff and volunteers at National Zoological Park kindly collected data on Mei Xiang and Tai Shan for our study of maternal behavior. The same methodology is used on all mothers in this study and data are collected at the same time of day for the same number of hours per week. Inter-observer reliability tests are also conducted among all researchers collecting data for this study to make sure that behaviors are scored in the same way. It’s particularly interesting to compare Lun Lun’s and Mei Xiang’s behavior because they are both first time mothers.

We found the amount of time both females spent in contact (i.e., touching) with their cubs and out of reach (i.e., separated by more than one adult giant panda body length) from their cubs to be very similar. In month one, Lun Lun spent 98% time in contact with her cub and Mei Xiang spent 99% time in contact with her cub. In month two, Lun Lun spent 62% time in contact and Mei Xiang spent 62% time in contact. In month 3, Lun Lun spent 24% time in contact and Mei Xiang spent 12% time in contact. In month 4, Lun Lun spent 8% time in contact and Mei Xiang spent 11% time in contact. The reverse trend occurs in the amount of time these mothers spent out of reach of their cubs. In month one, Lun Lun spent 2% time out of reach of her cub and Mei Xiang spent 0.1% time out of reach of her cub. In month two, Lun Lun spent 14% time out of reach of her cub and Mei Xiang spent 24% time out of reach of her cub. In month three, Lun Lun spent 36% time out of reach of her cub and Mei Xiang spent 69% time out of reach of her cub. In month four, Lun Lun spent 74% time out of reach of her cub and Mei Xiang spent 80% time out of reach of her cub.

We also measure how much time mothers spend proximate (i.e., within one adult body length) to their cubs and record when it is not possible to determine the distance separating mother and cub.

Lun Lun’s and Mei Xiang’s social distance trends are also very similar to those of the five mothers we’ve studied at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Some of those females were first time mothers and others were experienced mothers.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Sunday, January 28
Over the last week we have seen 144 day-old Mei Lan become more aware of the world above her. We noticed her attempting to climb the mesh in her den area. She managed to get all four paws off the ground for less then a second and then she tumbled backwards.  Also, as she walks up to tree trunks on exhibit, she looks upwards and seems curious as to where it may lead. Unfortunately, she has not managed to climb one yet. She does not seem to have enough strength in her legs to pull herself up, so as that develops, look for her to appear in the treetops over the next month or so.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II

Saturday, January 27
While cleaning today, Jay and I had a nice surprise. Mei Lan attempted to take herself back into the dayroom, after coming off earlier in the morning. Over the last week or so, she has only spent a few minutes outside before she hurries herself back indoors and back to her favorite spot in the dens. No one yet has noticed her attempting to return to exhibit, until now. Today, while cleaning, I turned around and saw Mei Lan walking in the end of the hallway heading right towards the door. Unfortunately, she never made it all the way into the dayroom, but stopped to play on the threshold of the door. I am sure that it was still a treat for those visitors that happened to be in the viewing hut at that time. After spending a few minutes on the threshold, Lun Lun decided that Mei Lan was not supposed to be in the doorway and went right to her and took her back inside, to nurse. By Mei Lan traveling back to the dayroom from inside, it is just a sign that she is getting more comfortable in her surroundings and hopefully it won't be too much longer before she is out most of the day.
J.T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II

Friday, January 26
Zoo Atlanta has been honored this year by being chosen to host the yearly meetings of the Giant Panda SSP, or Species Survival Plan. According to the AZA, or American Zoological Association, an SSP is a cooperative population management and conservation program for selected species in zoos and aquariums in North America. Each SSP manages the breeding of a species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable. SSPs also participate in a variety of other cooperative conservation activities, such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects.

During these meetings, completed and ongoing research projects as well as other giant panda management topics have been presented and discussed. It is amazing to see how a diverse group of scientists and zoo personnel from all around the world can come together to share knowledge and information that will greatly benefit the giant panda species, both captive and wild populations, as a whole.

With that being said, we were honored to be able to show off Yang Yang, Lun Lun, and Mei Lan to all of the representatives present, some from as far away as Hong Kong. As expected, everyone fell in love with Mei Lan at first sight as she was able to dazzle everyone with her antics.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III

Thursday, January 25
8.3 kilograms this morning. Roughly just over 18 pounds. Granted this WAS just after a bout of nursing, but Mei Lan is starting to grow into the title of "Giant Panda". Her teeth are very obvious now, and she spends a lot of her time mouthing and chewing on her environment. To accomodate this, we have been trying to offer various toys for her to interact with. Her favourite thing so far is proving to be bamboo. Mei Lan shows so much interest in mom's bamboo that we've started offering her some as well. She plays with it, hides in it, and sort of chews on it, but the interest is definitely there. Watch for it on Pandacam.

We are also starting to adapt Mei Lan to the idea of training. Since she is not eating solid food yet, the fruit and biscuits we positively reinforce the adults with, we use happy voices and attention with Mei Lan. Granted, this is currently limited to asking Mei Lan to "come", but she orients on us and responds well, so it's a good start to make the learning associations that will become more important the older and larger she gets. Since training is my primary interest, this is an exciting development for me, and for all of the staff. Our little cub that was a black and white immobile fuzzball for months is now active, interested, and all kinds of entertaining!
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III

A not so quick escape

Wednesday, January 24
This morning the keepers gave Mei Lan a large diameter piece of bamboo for enrichment. The keepers often use large pieces of bamboo to make puzzle feeders for the adult pandas. The keepers drill holes in the bamboo and stuff it with leaf eater biscuits or pieces of fruit. The bamboo that Mei Lan had was not filled with biscuits or fruit, because she does not eat those things, yet. However, she spent about 40 minutes investigating it by smelling, biting and grasping it with her front paws. She was more interested in this piece of bamboo than anything else we have given her so far. Cubs that we studied in China also spent more time investigating bamboo than any other items that were provided for them. This is probably one way that young giant pandas learn about feeding on bamboo.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Tuesday, January 23
You may have noticed that Lun Lun does not spend a lot of time with Mei Lan anymore. In the first month of Mei Lan’s life, Lun Lun was in contact (i.e., touching) with her 98% of the time. In month two it was 62%; in month three it was 24% and in month four it was 8%. This is a normal trend for giant panda mothers and their cubs. We found similar results for the other mothers we have studied. A cub in the wild Mei Lan’s age would no longer be in a den. She would follow her mother as she foraged and sometimes be carried by her mother to new foraging areas. However, mother and cub would often not be in contact while the mother was foraging. The cub would be nearby, often resting in a patch of vegetation. After cubs are five months old, they are able to climb well and often rest in trees while their mothers forage. Mei Lan is starting to learn to climb. You might have noticed her pulling herself up onto her rear legs. In a few more weeks she will be able to climb vertical structures and then you might see her resting off the ground when her mother is away.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Monday, January 22
In addition to Mei Lan urinating on her own for the first time last week, the keepers also found that she defecated on her own on Friday. Lun Lun is still licking Mei Lan’s anogenital area to stimulate urination and defection and to keep Mei Lan clean. This behavior had reduced from 2.5% of the time in the first three months of Mei Lan’s life to 1.4% by month four. Now that Mei Lan no longer requires her mother’s assistance to void waste, the behavior will continue to decline gradually.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Sunday, January 21
This morning Mei Lan was quite active. After a short visit on exhibit, Mei Lan took herself back to the den area. About an hour later, Lun Lun took her back out on exhibit for a quick nursing session and some play. Mei Lan has taken to climbing on Lun Lun even when Lun Lun is trying to sleep. Mei Lan also continues to explore and mouth bamboo, but it does not seem to be more than just a toy to her at this time.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II

Saturday, January 20
The last few days Mei Lan has decided that the dens make a better play and rest area then the dayrooms. For whatever reason when she goes out, she has made a beeline right to the access door and climbs her way back in. Lun Lun just continues to eat and has been unresponsive due to the cub not making any vocalizations to draw Lun Lun’s attention. Once Lun Lun is done eating she will immediately go and look for Mei Lan to see how she is, and will often nurse her. This is part of the reason that we are unable to guarantee that visitors will have a chance to see Mei Lan, because right now Mei Lan still feels more comfortable in the dens. Lun Lun has taken Mei Lan back on exhibit a couple of times but that is all up to her. So, people have had a chance to see the cub in the afternoon.
J.T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II

Friday, January 19
Mei Lan continues to grow steadily. We now weigh her daily. This morning she weighed 8 kg (17.6 lbs). This afternoon you may have seen her playing with a large piece of paper. The keepers give her at least one new thing to investigate and play with everyday. She has been very interested in some things and not interested at all in others. She tends to spend most of her awake time investigating bamboo and fixtures in her enclosures (e.g., doorframes, screws, walls, etc.). This is normal for her age. As she gets older, she will become more interested in exploring broader areas and more objects.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

She's potty training now

Thursday, January 18
Mei Lan hit another significant milestone. Yesterday, we saw her urinate on her own for the first time. Newborn carnivores, including giant pandas, require stimulation from their mother to void urine and feces. Lun Lun has been licking Mei Lan’s anogenital area since she was born to stimulate her to void waste and has then consumed the waste. Giant pandas cubs usually start to urinate and defecate on their own between four and five months of age. Because of this, Lun Lun will gradually lick Mei Lan less and less. This is just another sign that she is growing up.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Wednesday, January 17
You may have noticed that Lun Lun has been carrying Mei Lan around more recently. There are a variety of reasons for this. Sometimes this is part of a play-fighting bout. Sometimes it is because Mei Lan is vocalizing because she is hungry and Lun Lun sometimes carries her before settling into a spot to nurse. Sometimes Lun Lun finds that Mei Lan has gone into a different den, and then Lun Lun carries her around before deciding where to deposit her. Sometimes Lun Lun takes Mei Lan along when searching for more food. Presumably mothers in the wild also carry their cubs some distance when foraging, particularly after the cub is old enough to leave the den but not old enough to follow the mother for significant distances. Lun Lun is not hurting Mei Lan when she carries her. The keepers do watch them closely to make sure Mei Lan is not accidentally hurt when Lun Lun carries her over obstacles, like thresholds between the dens. The keepers will interrupt the behavior if there appears to be any danger. Lun Lun is a wonderful mother and we hope that everyone trusts her and the animal care staff to take excellent care of Mei Lan.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

A snack, interrupted

Tuesday, January 16
There have been some recent inquiries about the reddish discoloration on the back of Mei Lan’s neck. This is not due to anything that Mei Lan has done to herself. It is in fact, because of Lun Lun. Every day, Lun Lun is given a dietary supplement in the form of leaf eater biscuits. These biscuits give Lun Lun extra protein that she needs to remain healthy. One characteristic about these biscuits is that they are reddish in color. When Lun Lun carries Mei Lan from place to place by the scruff, she transfers some of this color to the back of Mei Lan’s neck. The coloring is completely harmless and will fade over time as Mei Lan becomes more mobile and Lun Lun carries her about the exhibit less.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III

Monday, January 15
Today we thought we would give a quick update on Yang Yang. This past week we have noticed a sharp increase in his consumption of bamboo. With the increase in food consumption, his weight has also increased. He’s basically gained about ten pounds since the beginning of the month, tipping the scale at over 300 pounds. This is typical for this time of year, as he would start to enter breeding season.  Another change that we have noted in Yang Yang is an increase in the amount of locomotion that he does around the exhibits. In the wild, males would be traveling their territories in search of a female that is in potential estrous, and to make sure that no other males are around that would interfere with mating possibilities. We expect to see this locomotion behavior increase, along with other behaviors arising within the next few months as breeding season continues. (This year Zoo Atlanta will not attempt to mate Yang Yang with Lun Lun as she raises Mei Lan.)
Kate Roca and J.T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keepers II

Sunday, January 14
Lun Lun continues to participate in training sessions with her keepers. Today, she worked on voluntary blood draw, a procedure in which she places her arm into a training sleeve and allows the vet staff to collect a sample of her blood. Lun Lun had been working on this behavior for a while, before taking time out from it when Mei Lan was born. Now, as she starts this training again, both Lun Lun and the keeper have to learn to deal with a new “obstacle” named Mei Lan. During the recent training session, Mei Lan wanted to play and started to nibble and attack Lun Lun’s tail and back legs. Lun Lun did not let this bother her this time and did a wonderful job cooperating during her training session.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II

Saturday, January 13
Mei Lan and Lun Lun continue to do great on exhibit together. Each day, both appear to be getting more comfortable with being out in a more wide-open space, when comparing the size to the dens. Mei Lan continues to explore her surroundings each day, finding something new each day to examine. Today, we had our first sighting of the cub nursing on exhibit, which also tells us that both are doing good so far. This acclimation to the surroundings is also helped by noise levels being kept low, and no sudden flash of lights going off, which all can be potentially disturbing.  Each day we will continue to monitor the progress and make adjustments as needed. I hope that you all have a chance to see our wonderful little girl at some point, and experience her development.
JT Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II

Mei Lan is exploring her habitat

Friday, January 12
Over the past weeks we at Zoo Atlanta have received several emails and phone calls from Panda Cam watchers. Everyone loves Mei Lan and the adults, and enjoys their antics. Some questions and concerns have surfaced repeatedly about a few behind-the-scenes facts that I thought I'd help clear up for everyone.1) The den areas that are usually on Panda Cam are inside "safe" areas for the pandas. They stay in these overnight, where they get a lot of bamboo to enjoy, in a quiet place away from the noise of the exhibits and visitors. In order to clean these everyday and keep them disinfected to reduce any potential for disease transmission, the floors and walls are concrete and cinderblock, covered with a resilient epoxy paint. We need to hose and scrub these areas every day, and this type of surface and texture allows us to keep it clean and safe.2) Mei Lan did have a few issues with traction on these floors. To address this, staff used hay, wood wool, bathtub strips, and fibre and rubber mats in the area to try and provide various means of assistance. Staff needs to carefully consider anything put in with the pandas, as we do not want to risk injury to the mother or cub, and also don't want anything that could be ingested and potentially harmful present either. It is a great challenge to find a balance between "safe" and practical for the task. Fortunately, despite the slippery floors, Mei Lan learned to walk at the normal time for a giant panda cub’s development and now gets around just fine on them.3) Our enrichment guidelines follow the same parameters. Now that Mei Lan is more aware and mobile, we are able to offer her various toys and items for enrichment, for her to interact with if she chooses. These are not always visible on Pandacam, and must also follow the same strict guidelines for safety. The item cannot be harmful if Lun Lun were to bite/eat a piece, and it cannot be big or heavy, since we don't want mom to play with something and accidentally strike the cub. So be aware that we are trying to keep all of our bears happy with enrichment options every day. Hopefully you will all get the chance to see Mei Lan interacting with new things.4) And once again, I counsel patience. Mei Lan moves around a lot, and Panda Cam can't follow her all of the time. We do our best to keep her in view for all of our faithful watchers. And we know the cub periodically wanders into a pile of Lun Lun's waste. Being around her mother’s waste is not something to worry about. It’s common for the cubs we have studied at the Chengdu Research Base. Veterinarians even think it might be helpful for establishing important microflora in the intestinal tract. Of course, we do also keep the enclosures as clean as possible. However, each adult panda defecates over thirty times a day (up to 30 pounds of it each!), and we cannot clean up each and every mess as soon as it is left. Thank you for all of your concern and dedication to Zoo Atlanta and Mei Lan. Please feel confident that we are providing her with world class care. In our Panda area alone we have over 35 years of combined experience which benefits our animals. Thanks again for the letters and calls, and come visit soon, as Mei Lan may be out for you to see!
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III

Thursday, January 11
Mei Lan is getting better and better at moving from one den to another. She learned how to climb over the thresholds between some of the dens several days ago, but she’s now able to climb over all the thresholds fairly quickly. This is one more sign that Lun Lun is soon going to lose her alone time, because Mei Lan will be able to follow her mother wherever she goes.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Wednesday, January 10
Mei Lan had her first official dental exam this week performed by our dental consultant, Dr. Laura Braswell. As many of you know, good health is dependant on good nutrition and good dental health. Working with our veterinary team, Dr. Braswell helped to develop a dental chart to assist with documenting tooth eruption and wear patterns, periodontal and dental disease. We have been using this dental chart with our adult giant pandas to document their dental health and have started one with Mei Lan. Her teeth that have emerged so far continue to grow and develop normally. Dental exams are part of the preventative medicine that we practice here at Zoo Atlanta, not only for Giant Pandas, but for all of the animals that we care for. Despite developing teeth, Mei Lan will continue to nurse for several months. She exhibits healthy growth and development which indicates that Lun Lun (along with the keeper staff and Dr. Snyder) is providing excellent care.
Dr. Maria Crane
Vice President of Animal Health

Mei Lan enjoys a much needed nap after playtime

Tuesday, January 9
Mei Lan has started to interact with enrichment items. Yesterday, the keepers put a big, plastic ball in her den. She was interested in it immediately. Even though the ball is almost as big as she is, she approached it right away and batted it with her paw. Enrichment helps keep our animals physically active and mentally stimulated. We also use enrichment to encourage natural behaviors. For example, we scatter the pandas’ food around, so that they have to spend time searching for food like they would in the wild. Enrichment comes in many forms (e.g., objects, scents, food, enclosure furniture, training, and social interaction). For young animals, like Mei Lan, objects or toys are particularly useful because everything is new to young animals and they tend to be curious and want to investigate everything. That’s one of the ways they learn about their environments. It will be fun to watch Mei Lan’s reaction to all the new things around her in the coming weeks.
Watch her play with a yellow rag on the video page!
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Monday, January 8
Mei Lan is walking very well now. She is taking coordinated steps and can travel for several feet in any direction. She’s still a lot slower than Lun Lun, but Mei Lan is beginning to follow her mom for short distances. Mei Lan also likes to climb on her mom and investigate mom’s bamboo when she’s trying to eat. Lun Lun is tolerant of this, but sometimes uses her rear legs to block Mei Lan and push her away when she’s being exuberant.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management

Sunday, January 7
Mei Lan’s coordination is greatly improving as each day goes by. One of the cutest behaviors that I have started to see her do more frequently, and with better coordination, is scratching herself. She will take her hind leg and scratch either her belly or her shoulder with it. She looks just like her mom and dad when she does it. This body scratching is common in pandas, as it is a way for them to groom themselves. Pandas do not get into the water everyday to take a bath like you or I do. But instead they are known to take dust bathes and do a lot of scratching and grooming to keep clean and tidy.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II

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