PANDAS ~ 2011 & 2013

gigi · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:09 pm

Thank heavens Mommy was around to rescue him. I wasn't sure if she was going to push him on through or pull him out. It is tough keeping a widdle panda out of twouble!!
Monday, March 21
Po is status quo. So I will take this opportunity to update you about cub number two, Xi Lan. Xi Lan was being his usual playful self the other day. He was running around, climbing on toys and charging at his bamboo. He would take the bamboo, climb into the hammock with it, and toss it around. He has quite the personality. My favorite thing to see Xi Lan do is hang upside down and play with a toy hanging from his structure that has some biscuits inside. He is quite the entertainer.
Katie Gatlin
Carnivore Keeper I

Friday, March 18
Giant pandas of all ages are masters at comfortably sleeping in a lot of uncomfortable looking locations. Lun Lun often sleeps on a climbing structure with her head hanging down off the edge. Yang Yang will snooze away pressed against the glass of the dayroom with hundreds of visitors loudly admiring him on the other side. Xi Lan can nap away the afternoon curled up on a drain cover in the rain. Po is proving to be like the rest of the family in his sleep habits. This morning he fell asleep on top of a log he was climbing. About 30 minutes into his nap, he slid off the log onto the ground and never woke up. That’s an amazing feat even for a panda!
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Mammals

Wednesday, March 16
Unlike our previous cubs, Po prefers to play with natural “toys” like his mother’s bamboo. So far, he has shown no interest in the small toys that Mei Lan and Xi Lan played with when they were Po’s age. I am sure he will become more interested in these items and other toys that our pandas enjoy as he gets older. However, for now, he is happy to play with bamboo and his mother.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II

Mick · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:26 am

Carly thanks for finding that. Mom knew just what to do. I would have freaked!!

Thanks for the updates Gigi. Have you been having trouble with the cam freezing every 5-10 seconds?

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:52 am

Mick, I was gone most of the day so did not have a chance to look at the cams. I will let you know if I have any trouble.

Beth · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:00 am

I am having trouble... :egg18:

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:04 am

It is working fine for me now. Earlier I couldn't tell because the cam was directed at nothing moving. Maybe that was the problem.
Try again Mick and Beth. :egg7:

gigi · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:33 pm

Wednesday, March 23
Po has started to show more interest in enrichment items that we provide. This week I hung a jolly ball (i.e., 10 inch rubber ball with a handle) on the hammock in the day room. For the first hour he ignored and avoided it. But after a short nap he decided to investigate it. I guess he decided it was an ok item to play with because he chewed on it and tumbled over it for about 20 minutes until Lun Lun appeared for a nursing session. Keep an eye out for other items that we provide to keep him and all of the pandas enriched.
Kate Roca
Carnivore Keeper III

Mick · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:22 pm

gigi · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:23 pm

Looks like he just gave out!

Beth · **Posted:** Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:09 pm

Monday, March 28

For those of you who watch the panda cam, you will notice a small change in the birthing den which is on the cam most of the time. Po has now reached an age and has gained enough climbing ability that the nest box can no longer contain him, so it is no longer needed. We removed it Sunday morning, cleaned it, and stored it. So, it will be ready to use for the next cub.

Po nearly hit the 8 kg mark this morning, weighing in at 7.9 kg. This was, however, right before a nursing session.
I have no doubt he could have broken that barrier had I weighed him a little later.
Here in Atlanta we had a wet, cloudy day, but that didn't seem to matter too much to Po, as he went about his normal routine of sleeping, playing in the bamboo, sleeping, chasing his mom, nursing, sleeping. He has been climbing in and out of the hammock on his own now, as his climbing abilities have gotten much better. It won't be long before he gets good enough to reach the flat logs on the back of the climbing structure. That was the favorite resting spot for both of his siblings, Mei Lan and Xi Lan.
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores

Friday, March 25

Along with the nice weather we’ve had, we’ve also had some good crowds at the Zoo. Despite the fact that Lun Lun and Po are behind glass in the dayroom, some amount of noise and commotion still reaches them. Po has been a champ with the big crowds outside the dayroom and seems to be oblivious to his popularity. Even camera flashes, which we normally ask guests to turn off when taking pictures, really haven’t fazed him. It’s been good practice for him, because Spring Break is coming up in early April and we hope that even more of his fans will come to visit him. From the looks of it, Po is ready. His current weight is 7.7 kg.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Mammals

Love the photo Mick :egg6:

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:08 pm

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:59 am

Yup, he went over...

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:04 pm

Thanks Mick. I missed that! Po is becoming a wild man! :smile:

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:28 pm

Friday, April 1
Po and Lun Lun continue to do well on exhibit. The keepers have been increasing the amount of time they are out each day. Now, visitors to the Zoo can expect to see Po and Lun Lun on exhibit from 9:30-1:30 each day. Some days they are on exhibit past 1:30, but visitors should plan to be at the giant panda exhibit before 1:30 if they want to be sure to see Po. At nearly five months of age, Po is right on track developmentally. He continues to work on his climbing skills, which seem to improve each day. He is still very young and, like most young animals, he spends quite a bit of sleeping. Luckily, he is adorable asleep or awake.
Rebecca Snyder, PhD
Curator of Mammals

Wednesday, March 30
A few months ago, the San Diego Zoo did some renovations in their giant panda exhibits and used a soil conditioner called Loamex. Afterwards, Bai Yun, Yun Zi and Gao Gao spent a lot of time playing in the soil and ended up covered in it many times. One of our wonderful docents and long-time panda fan, Stacy Watts, saw how much fun the San Diego pandas had playing in the Loamex and she decided she would like our pandas to have some as well. So, she raised the funds needed to purchase it from her fellow panda fans and soon we had our very own bags of soil just waiting for the pandas to enjoy. Well, they were not impressed. We tried it several times and they never showed any interest in the Loamex. A few weeks ago, our horticulture team even covered one habitat with it to help grass seed grow and still they ignored it. Until yesterday… again, our horticulture team covered the one of the habitats with the Loamex to help new grass seed grow. Later that afternoon, I shifted Yang Yang into that habitat while I refreshed his bamboo in the other habitat. Once I was ready to move him back to his fresh bamboo, I looked into the habitat where he was waiting and I saw a black bear had replaced Yang Yang! Unfortunately, I missed him rolling around in the dirt, I only saw the results. However, it looked like he had thoroughly enjoyed himself. A few hours later, Yang Yang had managed to remove most of the dirt from his coat and he looked like himself again. I don’t know what caused Yang Yang to suddenly decide he wanted to play in the Loamex, but I hope he continues to enjoy it.
Heather Baker Roberts
Carnivore Keeper II

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:23 am

Po is sleeping in the hammock now. I think it is so cute that he climbs up there and puts himself to sleep.... :zzzzz

Monday, April 4
Po is quite the climber. He now is able to climb into and out of the hammock to put himself to sleep, which is understandable after a big climb like that. He loves to play on the log structure in the dayroom as well. One other place Po loves to play is on the scales in the off exhibit dens. These scales are large, raised platforms built into the floors of two of the dens. He will climb on them, around them, and walk behind them. He also often sleeps behind them. Maybe because he feels hidden and secure there.
Katie Gatlin
Keeper I, Mammals

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:09 pm

Po and Lun played with a ball in the hammock. Later he was climbing all over some structure. Not sure what it was.
:egg8:

He is a busy busy boy!

Wednesday, April 6
Hello! I thought maybe I should introduce myself - my name is Jen and I'm the newest member to the carnivore staff here at Zoo Atlanta! I have spent the last year or so interning and working as a seasonal keeper in other departments and am thrilled to finally call the panda building my home! Learning the routine here in pandas is a lot of hard work, but getting to work with pandas makes everything worth it! The pandas and I are spending a lot of time getting to know each other. It seems Po and I have a lot in common; we're both rookies and are learning all about our new home together! Speaking of Po, the little cub is getting stronger every day. His favorite place these days seems to be the hammock. 'When in doubt, find the hammock' seems to be his motto!
Jen Webb
Keeper I, Mammals

gigi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:40 pm

Well that would be fun to have a widdle cubbie again. :smile:

Thanks for the update Carly!

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:47 am

Monday, April 11
If you look in the dayroom in person or on PandaCam, you may notice an addition to the furniture of the room. As I was feeding Lun Lun some of her biscuits today, I noticed that Po has taken an interest in the automatic drinkers on the back wall. I watched him try to investigate it, but it was just a little too high for him. He could just get the tip of his paw over the top of the drinker. Noting this, I was able to install our "baby step" that will enable him to get up to the drinker. The step is made of coir or coconut husks and its primary use is for erosion control. We have found many other panda uses for these, however, as you will be able to see in the outside yards when we begin to baby-proof in preparation for Po and Lun going outside. When we placed this step by the drinker for Xi Lan years back, we were hoping he would be able to get up there and get a drink. He did that, but he also liked to use the drinker as a pseudo swimming pool. He was in that thing constantly it seemed. We don't know what Po is going to do with the drinker himself, but it will definitely be interesting to find out.
Kenn Harwood
Lead Keeper of Carnivores

Friday, April 8
If you’ve been watching Panda Cam, or seen Lun Lun and Po in person recently, you’ve probably noticed that they’re interacting with each other more and more. Sometimes these interactions are obviously play, and other times what they’re doing is a little less clear. For example, today I collected data on Lun and Po and Po was struggling to climb into the hammock. Just when he had almost made it in, Lun came along and pushed him off and he landed with a thump on the ground. What’s up with that? I don’t have a good answer to that question, but I can tell you that it’s pretty typical behavior for Lun with her cubs. I can also tell you that we keep a close eye on them and these interactions never cause any injuries to Po. Giant panda cubs are pretty tough and do a lot of tumbling and falling on their own, even when their moms aren’t pushing them off the climbing structure!

Lun and Po played for quite some time while I collected data and it was fun to watch. We have microphones in the indoor dayrooms, which allowed me to hear what was going on during the play bout, in addition to seeing it. Aside from a few small grunts, Po didn’t make any vocalizations to let his mom know that she was being too rough. In fact, he went back for more whenever she walked away. Even though it looks rough to us, Lun isn’t trying to hurt her cub. In fact, she actually tones it down a bit, but it’s hard to play like a little cub when you weigh well over 200 pounds!

And no need to worry, because Po eventually made it back into the hammock for a nap when Lun settled down to eat.
Megan Wilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Mammals

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:35 pm

As many of you know, PBucket is not available to some users. I haven't had access to me albums for 4 days. This post is a test for ImageShack...

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:41 pm

I am having the same trouble Mick. Glad you were able to post a pic of our favorite ball of black and white fluff from Atlanta! Sorry to all you black and white kitty lovers. They are cute too, as well as puppies and ponies and....

gigi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:42 am

Wednesday, April 13
We mentioned awhile back how we have removed the dividers in the birthing den that make up Lun Lun’s nest box. After the nest box was removed we still housed only Lun Lun and Po in these overnight areas to make sure she still felt comfortable and had a space of her own for her and Po. Well, as of this weekend, we have started to rotate the pandas through the night dens, which means that one of the males is sometimes housed in Lun Lun’s birthing den area while she and Po try out other night spaces in the building. Neither Lun Lun or Po has shown any dislike about the new arrangements. In fact, Po seems to enjoy exploring new and different areas, while Yang Yang and Xi Lan enjoy being in dens they have not seen in 6 months.
Kate Roca
Carnivore Keeper III

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PANDAS ~ 2011 & 2013

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