< month 9
Sunday, May 6
While cleaning this morning I received a call over the radio from one of the Panda Guides to check out Yang Yang and Mei Lan. My first thought was “WHAT!?!, Yang Yang should not be interacting with Mei Lan.” Since giant pandas are solitary animals once they reach sub-adulthood, Yang Yang will never be in the same habitat as Mei Lan at the same time. So, I checked out the cameras to see what the Panda Guide was talking about. Well, it turns out that Yang Yang was eating his bamboo while sitting next to the training panel that is in the wall between the two habitats. During this time, Mei Lan walked over to the other side of the panel and even though they could not visually see each other, Mei Lan was sniffing at the door through the small crack at the bottom. Yang Yang put down his bamboo for a short period of time to sniff back at his daughter. This interaction did not last long as Yang Yang turned back to his bamboo and Mei Lan fell asleep.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Saturday, May 5
THE PANDAS, ACCORDING TO JAY (Part Deux)
So after a brief synopsis yesterday of my assessment of the male's psyche, we now turn to our ladies.
Lun Lun was born in Chengdu on August 25th, 1997. If my memory serves, she was part of a little panda creche, where the youngsters were raised with their peers. Lun Lun is considered very beautiful by the Chinese, for her round, fluffy face. It is also one of the easy ways to distinguish her from Yang Yang. Lun Lun has a narrower muzzle, and a little black spot on the end of her tail. She spends a lot of her time off of the ground, sleeping in the hammock, or on the climbing structures. Her average weight is around 240 pounds, but her increased appetite and diet to supplement the cub nursing has seen this take a bit of a spike. Since it would be impolite to mention that the lady has reached over 270 pounds periodically, we won't. Lun Lun likes cinnamon, also loves mint mouthwash, and has a distinct fondness for rubbing alcohol. This makes training sessions difficult when we are trying to clean an area for injection or blood draw training, as Lun stops and spends a few minutes self-anointing with the alcohol. Invariably she always finishes a session once she's done making herself smell pretty.
Lun Lun is more independent than Yang Yang. While she seeks out attention from the keeper staff, her world doesn't revolve around as Yang's does. Lun Lun rarely vocalized before the cub was born, and would tend to just quietly demonstrate her displeasure if she was hungry, as opposed to Yang's more vocal "tantrums". She doesn't seem to prefer one sex of keeper over the other, but Lun Lun and I have a very strong bond. This likely arose from my intense focus on her ultrasound training when I first started at the zoo. Ultrasound training was a high priority to complement the breeding program, and so she and I worked very closely on a daily basis. She loves to train, and is excellent at it. Lun Lun seems to take in more of her surroundings, to be more aware and wary of things, as Yang Yang somersaults through life. This is not to say she doesn't have play bouts, or enjoy training sessions and keeper time, but she seems to take things at a more sedate pace, after spending time taking in the environment. Lun Lun also tends to manipulate rather than destroy. When given a new toy, bamboo or otherwise, she will handle it, smell it, and inspect it from many angles trying to interact or obtain any treats inside. For her, brains seem to take precedent over brute strength. Lun Lun is a good girl and a great mom. She enjoys keeper time and checking out new toys, and her recent play bouts with Mei Lan make us smile as much as Yang's antics do. Lun Lun seems to favor the hammock, and tearing into the big paper feed bags and boxes we often hide her daily treats in.
Mei Lan is still developing her personality. For now, she seems to enjoy shoots and banana, with the odd biscuit here and there. She seeks out keeper attention whenever she is able, and so we are able to start training her, reinforcing simple behaviors like "come" and "shift", even starting on target training. She is definitely picking up on her mother's sense of the environment and surroundings, but also seems to possess a measure of what I can only call Yang's "irreverence". Her zest for exploration, playing with new toys (like her fabulous new Amazing Graze feeder... Thanks Michel!!!), and tackling her mother make her a constant joy. We know she will continue to develop her own sense of "self" and personality, and all of you will be there right along with us to watch.
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III
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Yang Yang during training |
Friday, May 4
Zoo Atlanta has many active education programs that visitors and members can participate in. We have Mommy and Me groups, Summer Safari classes, NightCrawler overnighters... There's a huge list, and the programs are very popular indeed. The panda exhibit is a regular stop for most of these tours, even the overnight groups, since the bears are usually out early. This means that the panda keepers are often asked to participate in many of the education programs, and I personally enjoy these opportunities to share more of what I do, and what makes pandas, animals, and zoos so special with guests hoping for a special glimpse into it all. One of the primary requests I get from our fabulous education folks and loyal docents is for me to discuss our pandas' personalities. I always teach people that animals are just like humans in that each one is different, likes different things, and has their own unique perspective on life. SO, since I have two days of updates to write this week, I thought I'd share my random thoughts and panda anecdotes with all of you.
On that note...
THE PANDAS, ACCORDING TO JAY...
(*insert dramatic opening theme here*)
Yang Yang is our big handsome guy, weighing in at an average of 300 pounds. He has a little white patch on his left foot, a big wide (squishy) nose, and those little satellite dishes attached to his skull (M-I-C, K-E-Y...). He usually sleeps in a cave somewhere, and is most often on the ground. He will eat sweet potato, whereas Lun Lun won't touch it. He was born on September 9, 1997 in Chengdu, and loves the smell of tabasco, mint mouthwash, and lavender. His new favorite toy is the weeble (thank you Pandas Unlimited!!!), and he has a tendency to destroy the toys we make for him from bamboo. It seems to be easier to rip them apart to get the treats than to figure out how to actually MANIPULATE the devices...
Yang Yang was (from what I was told) a mama's boy when he was raised in Chengdu, and then here in Atlanta he had mostly female keepers, including one lady (no longer with our zoo) who doted on him. He seems to have a distinct preference for the female gender. Yang Yang seems to love his keepers, and is always ready to interact. He has participated in numerous research studies, and always scores very well, proving that he's one heckuva smart guy. Very communicative, he can often be heard bleating at his keepers, as an affiliative form of communication, and sometimes being "needy", apparently wanting more bamboo, biscuits or attention. He enjoys playing with the keepers in the dens in the morning, rushing back and forth on the other side of the bars, jumping up and displaying, and even doing somersaults from den to den. He's a big goofy panda that usually makes us smile many times a day.
Yang Yang is very advanced in his training. He presents many parts of his body upon request, and LOVES to open his mouth wide and show off his teeth (and tonsils?). He is trained for injections (i.e.-annual vaccinations), blood draws, and even for ultrasounds, so that we can get images of his abdomen. I am working on desensitizing him to touch with his testicles, as they tend to change size tremendously during breeding season and we would like to take measurements with digital calipers. He even does his training outside some days, where visitors can see him interact. It's easy to see after even a short time why he is the favorite of so many of our guests and online watchers.
Tune in tomorrow for mom and baby...
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III
Thursday, May 3
With the weather turning warmer, we though it might be nice if Mei Lan was able to cool off in the pool just like mom and dad. Starting yesterday, we began filling the pool in her outdoor yard with about 4-6 inches of water. As of now, she has yet to explore the pool, sticking mainly with the small puddle at the inflow valve, but it will only be a matter of time.
With the weather becoming hotter, we have not just dealt with the ladies, but we have started making special arrangements for Yang Yang. In order for the keepers to be able to service the dayrooms for Lun Lun and Mei Lan, we have been forced to keep Yang Yang in the outdoor habitats. After the morning coolness has warn off, we have started allowing Yang Yang access to one of his indoor dens for the remainder of the afternoon. If he chooses so, he will be in the outdoor yard, but if it is too hot, you can expect him to be lounging in the A/C at the all you can eat bamboo buffet.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal/Carnivore Keeper III
Wednesday, May 2
Mei Lan is turning into a little thief. When we offer Lun Lun shoots or biscuits throughout the day Mei Lan will occasionally slink out from her play area or out of the tree to see what has been offered. She will then grab a treat from Lun Lun’s pile and carry it away to chew on it in peace. Though, her peace usually does not last long. As soon as Lun Lun is finished with her pile she finds Mei Lan and takes back what was stolen from her.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Tuesday, May 1
Mei Lan and Lun Lun had a long play-fighting bout outside this morning. It’s amazing to see how fast Mei Lan is becoming. She can now climb up and down the tallest part of the outdoor climbing structure very quickly. She’s not as fast as her mom, though. It’s a lot of fun to watch Mei Lan chase Lun Lun, bite her heel and then try to run away while mom chases her. Lun Lun is still able to catch her easily, but that will change.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Monday, April 30
It was a busy week overall, but I will concentrate on the weekend. Because I had a long weekend I decided to head up to a town called Xi'an, which is famous for the Terracotta Warriors. It all started with catching a late flight from Chengdu, arriving in Xi'an about 11 pm. That is where all the fun begins because all the cab drivers try to get your attention to hire them. After making it through the crowd, I decided to splurge a little bit and take a fancy cab to the hotel about 45 km away. I probably spent about 50 RMB (about $6.50) more then the normal taxis, but it was comfortable and quick. That put me at the hotel at about midnight. Luckily, they still had my reservation. After finally communicating everything, in my very little Chinese and their very little English, I got my key and headed to my room. Once in the room, to my surprise, it was in very good condition, clean, and no smells. It was better then most hotels that I stay at in the US.
The next morning, got up early and headed to the train station to catch a bus that runs to the Terracotta Warriors about 25 km to the east of Xi'an. After about an hour, I arrived at the site. Once inside the venue, there are four buildings that you can enter. Three are pits that contain some warriors and the fourth in basically a museum. I ended up probably doing everything in reverse order compared to how a guide would lead a tour, because I started at the museum then went to Pit 2, then to Pit3, and finally Pit 1. Pit 1 is the area where most of the unearthed warriors are, and it is the most famous. I am not going to bore you with a history lesson, you can look it up on your own, but it was an impressive site when I got to Pit 1. And that is why I made the trip to Xi'an to see that site.
After spending some time there taking photos and all, I caught the bus back to town and saw many more sites over the next two days. Mainly I went to the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, the Great Mosque in the Muslim Quarter, Small Goose Pagoda, and walked on top of the still intact City Wall. In between all of this was some shopping, lots of walking on small side streets, and me finally breaking down and eating at McDonald's for the first time in China. Let’s just saw that there was a lot done in a short amount of time that I won't get into.
The weather during the first part of the week in Chengdu was bad, cold and rainy. As I have mentioned before, not the type of weather in which you want to be outside collecting data. Three females this week have really started to head into estrus, showing noticeable increases in hormone levels. Though none reached peak estrus, they should peak this coming week and make it busy for the staff while they are trying to celebrate May holiday (which I will talk about next week). Data collection this week required some juggling because semen was being collected from some males, and one panda hurting his foot. But it all worked out in the end.
Joseph T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II
Sunday, April 29
We have been asked may times: “What are the black bowls that are in the night den areas?” or “What is the silver thing hanging on the wall in the day room?” Well, they are both automatic water fountains. Outside, we also provide automatic water fountains, plus water in the pools for the pandas to drink from.
But, Mei Lan chooses not to use these water sources when she is outside. Instead, she has found run-off that flows down the rock work of the habitat. Many times we have seen her walk up to this area and lick the wall to drink water. This shows how well she is adapting to her outside habitat.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Saturday, April 28
This past week, Zoo Atlanta has entertained many visitors that have made the giant pandas a tremendous part of their lives. Online panda watchers and fans of our pandacam have been here in small groups, and I have been lucky enough to spend time with them, particularly members of Pandas Unlimited, one group in particular that has raised money specifically for panda well-being and enrichment at more than one zoo. As I talk to these energetic guests, I am struck by their dedication to the animals, their knowledge of their species AND individual life histories, and also their willingness to contribute however they can to giant panda conservation, the facilities that house the charismatic bears, and the animals and staff who care for them.
That one word is the root of it. Charismatic. I heard throughout my university career in zoology the term "charismatic megafauna", and was always intrigued by it. Essentially it addresses that the big, noticeable animals that people relate to the best become the focus of habitat and conservation efforts. This is not to say that every animal is not important, but human nature tends to gravitate towards the big and impressive, or the cute and fuzzy. Giant pandas are an excellent example of this, being among the most easily recognizable animals on the planet. So what about the birds? the frogs? the BUGS??? Well, luckily, the "megafauna" aspect works in our favor. It usually pertains to LARGE animals, which then in turn require LARGE reserves and protected conservation areas. What we see is an umbrella effect. If you save say, 100 square miles of forest for a few pandas, just think about how many of the smaller, more innocuous species of plants and animals are being protected at the same time. So people gravitate to big and photogenic, big deal. In the end it works out in all the wildlifes' favor.
And I have learned never to underestimate their charisma. I remember the huge smile on my mother's face, back in Canada when she first got to meet a hand-reared cheetah. The experience touched her forever. Then the little boy who knew me as "king cheetah man", whom I took time to teach about the big cats and their African home. His mom wrote me a letter months later telling me that he tries to learn all he can now. Now here in Atlanta, Mei Lan has affected a girl with a little-known disorder, and has made a huge, positive impact on her life. And I get to share my time and panda stories with excited, dedicated adults and children every day, (especially some of the giant panda watcher groups) and I know that these animals make a difference in many peoples' lives. It makes me smile.
Behold the power of pandas.
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III
Friday, April 27
I thought you might be interested in how Mei Lan spends her time according to the behavioral data we collect on her each week. As you may have read in previous updates, we have been collecting data on Lun Lun’s maternal behavior since the day Mei Lan was born. We started collecting data on Mei Lan when she turned four months old. We start data collection on all cubs in our study of giant panda behavioral development at four months of age, because by that time the cubs are walking and regularly investigating their surroundings. So, we have four months of data from Mei Lan now.
Some things stayed mostly the same from when she was four months of age to when she was seven months of age. For example, in months 4 and 7 she spent 71% of her time inactive and 9% of her time in contact with Lun Lun. She spent 3% of her time investigating objects other than bamboo when she was 4 and 7 months old. She spent 4% of her time walking in month 4 and 5% of her time walking in month 7. Other behaviors changed a bit. For example, in month 4 she spent 3% of her time investigating bamboo and only 0.9% of her time doing that in month 7. That behavior peaked in month 5 when she spent 10% of her time investigating bamboo. Play-fighting also changed. She spent 0.7% of her time play-fighting in month 4 and 2% of her time doing this in month 7. In month 5 she spent 5% of her time play-fighting.
So far, Mei Lan’s behavior is similar to that of other giant pandas cubs we have studied. She is curious and playful in between long bouts of sleep, which is normal for giant panda cubs and other young animals.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Thursday, April 26
This morning Mei Lan had another first in the outside habitat, and she didn’t much care for it, so it seemed. During her morning tour of the habitat this morning, it started to rain lightly. You would have thought her name was Chicken Little yelling “the sky is falling!” based on how fast she ran to the doors wanting to be given access to her nice dry indoor dayroom. After checking that she wasn’t melting in the rain, we, of course, let her in, where she immediately climbed the structure and laid down. I imagine it will take some time for her to adjust to the rain and become just like mom and pop, who don’t mind the rain at all as long as the bamboo is plentiful and tasty. Becoming adjusted to new and sometimes frightening situations takes “baby steps”, and fortunately, she is very good at those.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III
Wednesday, April 25
Mei Lan has started to eat some of her mom’s fruit. Both Lun Lun and Yang Yang receive fruit as a supplement to their mostly bamboo diet. The keepers often use pieces of fruit in addition to leaf eater biscuits for reinforcement during training. Yang Yang and Lun Lun like apples, pears, plums, and bananas (including the peels). Yang Yang also likes sweet potato, but Lun Lun has never shown any interest in it. Mei Lan likes Lun Lun’s banana slices. Hopefully, this will be a good reinforcer to use when training Mei Lan.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Tuesday, April 24
Mei Lan did a wonderful job today demonstrating the usefulness of giant pandas claws. Like other giant pandas, she uses hers to climb and scratch. She has become very good at climbing vertical structures rapidly with the use of her claws. She also uses them to cling tightly when her mother is trying to pull her down from some high place. Giant pandas also use their claws to dig occasionally and scratch away tree bark, which seems to be a visual signal they sometimes leave behind for other giant pandas. Their claws are also used during fighting, particularly when males fight for access to cycling females.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Monday, April 23
Nothing special occurred this week probably for the first time since I have been here. I had no plans to go anywhere or do anything ahead of time, and did not come up with anything to do either. This week just consisted of working, like normal, coming home and being lazy. Over the weekend, it was much of the same, just sitting on the couch watching lots of movies. It may not be that exciting, but you need a break sometimes.
The Research Base was also quiet. Everyone is still waiting for six more females to cycle this year. So, there has not been much animal movement between enclosures for a couple of weeks now. It is just the lull time between those that normally cycle early in the breeding season and those that are later. All the other pandas just go about their normal routine of eating and sleeping, with the occasional play fight among the adolescents. It is all just nice and calm at the moment at least.
Joseph T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II
Sunday, April 22
Happy Earth day to all!
All of the pandas at Zoo Atlanta are doing well. Yang Yang is still enjoying his outdoor habitat. He seems to be a little less locomotive, since breeding season is nearing an end. Even with all of his walking and scent marking he has managed to maintain his weight at 136.0 kg (299 lbs). Lun Lun and Mei Lan seem to like spending their mornings in the outdoor habitat and then retreating to the “temperature controlled” dayrooms in the afternoon. Lun Lun is eating to both feed herself and be able to produce milk for her cub. She has now reached a weight of 119 kg (262 lbs). Mei Lan is still “growing like a weed” and is now up to 14.5 kg (32 lbs).
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Saturday, April 21
When it comes to Mei Lan’s climbing ability, she is reaching new heights, literally. Over these past few months and weeks, we have all seen Mei Lan’s climbing improve dramatically. Today, however, we saw her climb the highest she has ever been. On the climbing structure in the outdoor habitat, there is a natural tree limb with a forked tip extending over the top of the climbing structure. The height of the limb is about 12 feet tall. While cleaning the building this morning I looked out the window and noticed Mei Lan at the very top of this limb, sitting comfortably in the fork. She sat there and posed for photos for about 10-12 minutes, and then casually lowered herself down the limb to the climbing structure where she continued her daily tour of the habitat. It was great enough to see Mei Lan up that high, but it was equally as good to see that Lun Lun was sitting underneath her on the climbing structure and didn’t interfere with her at all. Hopefully, Lun Lun is beginning to feel more at ease with her baby climbing allowing us all to see Mei Lan reaching even higher heights when she gets to go over to the other outdoor yard in the coming weeks.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III
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Mei Lan is an avid tumbler |
Friday, April 20
Lun Lun has proven to me once again why she's such a great panda and mother. I've mentioned our training program before, and how Mei Lan's birth and subsequent mom-rearing has slowed down Lun's training routine. Now that we're able to separate Mei Lan for a short while in the mornings, with a treat like some shoot pieces, we can spend more time working with Lun Lun again. This morning I was demonstrating some of Lun Lun's behaviors for Hou Rong (our colleague from Chengdu who is currently working with us, and you'll remember was instrumental in last year's successful artificial insemination). I wanted to work on vaginal swabbing and ultrasound positioning, and Lun Lun jumped right back into her training sessions like eight or more months had not passed since her last work on these complex behaviors She allowed me to take a vaginal swab, and happily placed herself in the ultrasound "position", allowing me to touch and clip her abdomen, and Dr. Snyder to palpate her belly, simulating an actual ultrasound exam. This is pretty amazing, since she has not had to perform these behaviors since well before Mei Lan was born. Giant pandas are very intelligent, love to learn and as Lun Lun demonstrated, they don't forget much either.
On a "cute" note, now that Mei Lan periodically receives a shoot, or gets hold of one of mom's biscuits, she happily sits back, grasping it in her little paw, just like the adults. You'll remember, giant pandas possess the "pseudothumb", which is not an opposable digit, but an extension of the radial sesamoid wrist bone. Pandas can wrap their paws around an item held between the pseudothumb and the rest of the paw, and are the only bears able to do this. Well, Ken and I noticed Mei Lan sitting there yesterday morning, leaning against the wall and holding a biscuit in her little paw, just like a big bear. Later, she did it with a piece of shoot. Sigh, they grow up so quickly...
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III
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The world is her romper room! |
Thursday, April 19
Mei Lan started to sample bamboo shoots. She discovered her mom’s shoots and apparently liked how they tasted, because she has shown a lot of interest in them. Bamboo shoots are very tender and probably relatively easy for Mei Lan to chew. During the spring shooting season, wild giant pandas focus a lot of their foraging time specifically on shoots. Presumably, wild cubs Mei Lan’s age would also sample shoots that their mothers consume. This may be a giant panda cub’s first real taste of bamboo. Although they mouth and manipulate mature bamboo from 3-4 months on, their teeth aren’t developed enough to chew it up and ingest significant amounts until they are over a year old. Cubs less than a year old can chew up and ingest shoot pieces, though.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Wednesday April 18
This week the giant pandas started receiving bamboo shoots in addition to their regular diet of mature bamboo, leaf eater biscuits, and fruit. Bamboo shoots are a favorite food for giant pandas. Yang Yang and Lun Lun are no exception to this and seem to relish eating the tender, succulent shoots. We expect Mei Lan to show some interest in them as well, because they would be much easier for her new baby teeth to handle than the older bamboo her mom normally eats.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Tuesday, April 17
As you have probably read in previous updates, Mei Lan seems comfortable in her outdoor habitat now and has thoroughly explored almost every inch of it. The next step will be baby proofing the second, larger outdoor habitat, and then letting Mei Lan explore it. We will be holding off on some of the baby proofing measures for a few more weeks, because Yang Yang is still in breeding season mode. During breeding season, he spends a lot of time walking and climbing, and so it’s best for him to have the larger yard so that he has enough space for those activities. Breeding season behavior usually tapers off in May. So, watch for future updates about preparing the second outdoor habitat for Mei Lan.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Monday, April 16
It was a busy week for me here in Chengdu, and I did not have much sleep as a result. On Tuesday, a few of us went to a bookstore/restaurant called The Bookworm for a quiz night that is held every other week. Just an evening of food, drinks and trying to answer some very random questions. I won't say how my team did, we weren't last, and we rocked the science and animal fact sections. The next night I went to speak to a class at Sichuan University. A former Zoo Atlanta employee, Sara Bexell, teaches a class about animal welfare/conservation and asked if I would speak to her students about the work that I was doing here since the topic for the week was animal behavior. Luckily she has a translator, but some of the terms that I used don't have an exact equivalent in Chinese. But the overall gist of what I was telling was delivered to the students. Doing these two things put me way behind on my data entry for the week, and so I played catch-up the rest of the week. Over the weekend I went to a place called Animals Asia, which is located right outside the city. It is a rescue center for Asian black bears, sometimes called moon bears, which were removed from legal and illegal bile farms, where bile is collected for use in traditional Chinese medicine. With the help of the Chinese government this organization has been able to remove some bears from the horrible conditions in which they lived and allowed them to come to the Animals Asia facility. At this facility, the bears can spend time in large outdoor enclosures and play with lots of things. I don't think that the bears know how lucky they are.
The Research Base was quiet again this week. There isn’t really anything new to tell you about. So, I decided that I would tell you what a typical day is like for me, currently. Some things do change, but this is what normally occurs:
- 5:50 Wake Up
- 6:30 Catch a Ride to the Research Base
- 7:20 1st Data Collection Session Starts
- 8:50 2nd Data Collection Session
- 10:00 3rd Data Collection Session
- 11:15 Lunch
- 12:30 4th Data Collection Session
- 14:00 5th Data Collection Session
- 15:15 6th Data Collection Session
- 17:30 Take Panda Base Bus Home
- 18:30 Arrive Home
- 18:45 Get a Snack and Enter Data Into the Computer
- 20:00 Make Dinner and Watch Movie
- 22:00/23:00 Bed Time
Repeat
As you can see, there is not much time to do anything except collect and enter data during the week. Life as a giant panda researcher is not as glamorous as it may seem.
Joseph T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II
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Watch out shrubs, Mei Lan is on the loose! |
Sunday, April 15
When you work at a zoo, a big part of your job is working around and cleaning up poo. Here at Zoo Atlanta, the 3 elephants produce approximately 600 pounds a day. While the two rhinos leave about 60 pounds a day. Then there are smaller animals like the 3 zebras girls that produce about 30 pounds in a 24-hour period.
When it comes to the pandas, part of our job is not only cleaning it up, but also weighing it out. This helps us to monitor how much food they are eating and absorbing to use as energy and how much is casted off as waste. In turn this allows me to share with you with a great deal of certainty that the two adult pandas together produce 18-22kg (40-48lbs) of feces a day.
Now my main reason of bringing up poo as a daily update topic is to share that Mei Lan is now adding her fecal contributions to the mix. In other words, Mei Lan is pooping all by herself. As talked about in the Dec 6 th update, Lun Lun used to have to stimulate Mei Lan to produce waste. We have seen Mei Lan urinate by herself for sometime and we had speculated that she was defecating on her own, but had not seen it take place. But this morning, I saw her poo without any assistance from mom.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Saturday, April 14
I spend a lot of time training Yang Yang in the mornings for his memory recall study. It's a lot of work, and we will also be transferring the study over to Lun Lun soon. But all the time I have spent with Yang Yang means I have not been able to do quite as much with mom as usual. Mei Lan also makes training difficult, as she enjoys harassing mom while she participates. Anyhow, I'm trying to dedicate more time to Lun Lun as the cub grows older. One of the behaviors I have focused on training Lun Lun is to allow vaginal swabbing. This is important during normal breeding seasons, as a swab gently inserted collects cells from the vaginal wall. These cells can be treated on a slide, and then evaluated to determine what stage of hormonal change the female is experiencing. Obviously, we cannot immobilize Lun Lun every day for this, so I have trained her to allow this procedure voluntarily, for her usual fruit and leafeater biscuit treats. It's pretty amazing to observe the whole process of learning in chaining together a difficult and complex sequence of behaviors
The interesting part of this, and why I'm bringing it up, is that Lun Lun and I practiced this the other morning, for the first time in MONTHS, since well before Mei Lan's birth. Lun Lun did awesome, like she'd never had a huge break in the training, but when you see her tail up close like that, you notice she has a black tuft of hair on the end of her tail. Now, Yang Yang, his mother, and I believe numerous siblings all possess a brilliant white patch of fur on their feet somewhere. So when Mei Lan was born, we were looking carefully for any similar white spot to develop. Well, our little girl has small, faint patches on her heels, unlike the vivid ones from her daddy's side of the family. BUT if you look closely, you can see she has mommy's black tuft of hair on the end of her tail too. Genetics in action!
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper III
Friday, April 13
Neat! As I sit here watching Pandacam, mom and cub are curled up and sleeping together, on the play structure, OUTSIDE!!! For the very first time! I think this is a sign that Mei Lan is more comfortable out there, so visitors and Pandacam watchers will be able to enjoy her adventures outside longer into the day.
Many of you will have enjoyed yesterday's ladder adventure as well. Keepers (mostly Kenn the builder) constructed the ladder out of panda-safe materials (mostly bamboo), in hope that Mei Lan might use it to access higher, more difficult to reach areas. While she CLEARLY doesn't need the assistance in climbing, we secured the ladder in Dayroom 2 to the structure, and mom and baby had a great time playing on it yesterday afternoon. Lun Lun also was chewing on the top of it (did I mention it's made of bamboo?), which Kenn and I expected.
This brings me to my point of today's story, which is enrichment. When we build something new for the bears, we have to consider many things. Can they eat it? WILL they eat it? If they eat it, can it hurt them? Will it break and leave sharp edges? Is it heavy and could hurt Mei Lan? Etc, etc. The list goes on. So anytime we build something new, we remember that we have a baby bear who wants to inspect it, but also that 300 pound bears will play with and try to wreck it. A lot of thought and input from many people, vets included, go into the toys and devices you see in with the pandas. We want them to have fun, and interact using natural behaviours, but also to remain safe and unhurt. Inevitably, we will spend hours making some toys, and the bears will decide that it looks more tasty than play-worthy, and will EAT the bamboo toy. Or they'll destroy hours of work in minutes. But then we remember, it's about THEM, and they enjoyed it. And it beats spending hours on something, only to have them turn their nose up uninterested.
So watch daily for the different toys in their environment. Think about how a bear or cub might play with it, and the kinds of decisions that went into its value as a toy. We also try and change them everyday, to maintain novelty. You'll see the favourites repeat themselves, but we've got a pretty good supply, so try and keep track of what YOU think are all the different ones, and which might be their favourites.
Jay Pratte
Giant Panda Keeper II
Thursday, April 12
Mei Lan shattered her outdoor time record today by staying outside for a whopping 3 ½ hours. During this time, under the watchful eye of mom, she investigated virtually every square inch of the outdoor habitat. Like a normal young one, nothing kept her attention for very long, as she would jump from one interesting thing to another. About the only place she did not venture was into the moat, which still remains virgin territory for her. For one of the first times, Lun Lun actually tuckered out before Mei Lan and decided to take a nap on the climbing structure. Mei Lan was having none of this and saw fit to utilize a stationary mom as a nice addition to the climbing structure, much to the Lun Lun’s chagrin. Getting bored with this after about 10 minutes, Mei Lan was off to attack one of the small trees in the exhibit for a while. At around noon, Mei Lan ventured inside with her mom and made a bee line to the climbing structure and her favorite napping spot. She must be a tired girl after that full morning. Hopefully this is just the beginning for extended stays outside, much to the delight of her fans, me included!
As a side note, Mei Lan weighed in at a whopping 13.7 Kg or 30.14 lbs this morning.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III
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Mei Lan outside this morning |
Wednesday, April 11
Mei Lan has occasionally been showing some interest in her mom’s leafeater biscuits. So, the keepers have started breaking a biscuit in very small pieces and offering them to Mei Lan. Some days she is more interested than others. It takes her a long time to chew up even a small piece. We want her to start becoming accustomed to taking small pieces of food from the keepers, because food is a very good way to reward or reinforce behaviors. Positive reinforcement is used to train Yang Yang and Lun Lun to perform many behaviors that help us take good care of them. The keepers will use the same technique to train Mei Lan. Finding things she likes and wants, like toys and food, is an important step in being able to reinforce her for behaviors we ask her to perform (e.g., coming when we call and moving through a door we open).
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Tuesday, April 10
Mei Lan is becoming more comfortable outside. She spent over an hour in the outdoor habitat this morning and climbed higher on the outdoor climbing structure than ever before. As mentioned in previous updates, we expected her to climb or fall into the moat shortly after starting to go outside. She hasn’t done that, yet, but this morning she came close. Lun Lun was near the moat. So, Mei Lan approached her and then looked very interested in going into the moat. Lun Lun wasn’t ready for that, though. Always the excellent mother, she immediately grabbed Mei Lan and pulled her away from the edge of the moat. However, I suspect Mei Lan will sneak in there soon. She can be pretty good at evading her mom’s watchful eye.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Giant Panda Research and Management
Monday, April 9
I can't even remember anymore what I have talked about in the past, so I hope that I do not start to repeat myself. Some weeks my mind just escapes me. The days have started to run together after being here for over two months. I can't believe that it has been that long, already half-way done.
A lot has been accomplished, but there is still much more left to see. This week was fairly low-key, though. There was nothing going on in town and I had nothing planned. Just went for a walk downtown in the afternoon on Sunday. I did not bother to buy anything because I am already over my limit that I set before I left. But that is always the problem, when you see something you have to have it because who knows if you will ever get back to China again. So, this Sunday was just an afternoon of window shopping.
Saturday was the worst day that I have had yet for collecting data, it rained all day long. Trying to juggle an umbrella, a pen and a clipboard in two hands does not always work. I just wished for a break from the weather by having the chance to watch a panda inside while the keepers cleaned the yards, but that never materialized. The rain was bound to come at some point, and so far I have been fairly lucky overall with the weather, compared to previous years. The pandas did not seem to mind the rain, though. Most of them just sat out in it eating or sleeping like it was nothing. I wish that Lun Lun and Yang Yang back in Atlanta were that way. For the horticulture staff, I am sure that the rain was a happy event with all the new planting that they had been doing during the week. Most of the pandas’ yards got new sod laid during the week, which will benefit from the wetness. But like any other curious animal, some of the pandas decided that the grass was a new play toy and pulled some of it up. It turned out to be great enrichment for some of them. Just can't give them anything nice (right mom?)!
Joseph T. Svoke
Giant Panda Keeper II
Sunday, April 8
Back before Mei Lan was born, we would frequently switch Yang Yang and Lun Lun between all of the panda habitats. These habitats include the day areas visible to the public such as the dayrooms and out-door habitats, as well as the night areas that are off-exhibit such as the den where Mei Lan was born. However, about one month before Mei Lan was born, we stopped moving Lun Lun between the night dens and kept her in the same dens every night. The many reasons for this include: so that when she was ready to give birth she would feel comfortable in the birthing den; so we would not have to move her far (possibly-pregnant pandas sleep a lot and can be hard to persuade to move far); and so it would not smell like Yang Yang. Then, once Mei Lan was born, we kept Lun Lun in the same dens since this was her “nesting area” and thus we had these dens “baby proofed”.
Now that Mei Lan is mostly indestructible we have removed the “baby proofing” in the dens that she knew as her first “home”. Plus, we are back to switching night dens. I originally thought that Yang Yang would not care and that Lun Lun might react to this switch, since the other dens had eight months worth of “boy panda smell” and it was a new area for her cub. But, in fact, Lun Lun came right in and sat down to eat her night bamboo like nothing had changed. And much to my surprise, Yang Yang was the one to react to the change. He came in and ignored his bamboo and biscuits (an all time favorite panda treat). He started smelling every inch of the dens and when he reached the far end he turned around and ran back to the shift door to smell everything over again. After he thoroughly smelled the dens he did calm down to eat. But it just goes to show, even if you think you know a good deal about panda behavior, they will surprise you.
Kate Roca
Giant Panda Keeper II
Saturday, April 7
As Dr. Snyder wrote in April 4 th’s update, Lun Lun has been initiating play bouts more often with Mei Lan. Recently Lun Lun has demonstrated some extremely animated play behaviors with Mei Lan. She has been seen pulling Mei Lan out of the tree or hammock, rolling in and throwing bamboo into the air, and even rushing up and tackling Mei Lan. While these behaviors may seem quite aggressive, it is in fact play, and we can only assume that Mei Lan loves every minute of it. We can guess this from the fact that after being tackled, she will chase after or jump on Lun Lun’s back to continue the game. Something we often get questions about is what these play bouts sound like? Believe it or not, there are very few if any noises made, save from the sound of the bamboo and mulch being tossed about. So when you see Lun Lun seemingly acting crazy, just sit back and enjoy, because it’s about to get real entertaining.
Kenn Harwood
Large Mammal Keeper III
< month 9
