Bird Cams Around the World

From the National Zoo
Bei Bei Recovers From Surgery
Dec. 16, 2016
As Bei Bei recovers from surgery, his diet is slowly returning to normal but he still needs to wait until he can eat bamboo. However, he continues to gain weight, and has crossed the 100-pound (45 kilos) mark. While Bei Bei continues his recovery, we have adjusted Mei Xiang’s schedule to ensure that she still gets an adequate amount of bamboo each day. During the day, Bei Bei happily eats and rests inside while Mei Xiang is fed outside in the yard.

Prior to Bei Bei's surgery, our normal panda routine was to do a large bamboo feeding at the end of the day to see them through the night. Now, with Bei Bei’s diet restrictions we can’t put any bamboo in the indoor enclosures, and overnight is too long to leave Mei Xiang without bamboo. The solution is to feed Mei Xiang her bamboo outdoors only, and to lengthen her day, so she is only without access to bamboo for a few hours.

Originally, keepers were staying round the clock, both to monitor Bei Bei and to provide bamboo feedings for Mei Xiang. As the days passed and Bei Bei no longer required round the clock care, we realized that Mei Xiang really wasn’t interested in eating much bamboo overnight anyway. So, we gradually began increasing the time between the last feeding of the evening and the first of the morning until we arrived at the current schedule, which seems to be working well for everyone. We provide Mei Xiang at least five outdoor bamboo feedings each day while Bei Bei rests indoors.

This is the time in Bei Bei’s development where he continues to spend more and more time apart from his mom, so both are unfazed by this schedule. This is also the time of year where the temperatures drop, but the pandas are loving it! This is panda weather, and they are well equipped to deal with the cooler temperatures.

Both Bao Bao and Tian Tian are paying little attention to the schedule changes going on around them. They continue to be on their own eating, sleeping and playing schedules.

Bei Bei Post Surgery

Panda Updates From Zoo Atlanta
Monday, December 19
Everyone here celebrated the holidays this past weekend and the pandas were no exception. Well, aside from the cubs of course. Lun Lun received some festive enrichment to help get her in the holiday spirit. She got some ornaments and a present filled with biscuits, which she instantly tore through like a kid on Christmas morning to get the goods. She also received a "sugarcanecicle" that she had to work at in order to get the sugarcane out. With her jaws and her claws, she made quick work of the ice and was able to get the prize out. We even strung up some lights outside her dens so it really felt like the holidays throughout the night.

Shauna
Keeper II, Mammals

Three ZA updates
Wednesday, December 21
I would like to take a moment to shine the light on our daddy panda Yang Yang! I know sometimes we get caught up in the stardom of the Luns, but I would have to say that without the charismatic Yang Yang, then we wouldn't have not just our newest additions to the panda program, but their brothers and sisters too! I sometimes forget how funny and silly Yang is. Like the other day, he was hanging upside down from his structure trying to play with his enrichment, and self-anointing himself with the various scents we gave him. I also can't forget to mention his most alluring quality, which are what we like to call his Mickey Mouse ears. They are just too cute.

The cubs are doing great. Xi Lun is managing to stand up on all fours, even if just for a few moments. She is still a bit wobbly, but has been able to take maybe one step before tumbling over. Ya Lun still likes to scoot around the nest box; she certainly is building up those front arm muscles, though. Both girls are managing now to get the front half of their bodies over the sides of the nest box.

Lun Lun is doing great; she is doing an amazing job taking care of both of these cubs. She stimulates, plays, and nurses them when needed. It is quite adorable, though, when Lun is lying down with the both of them and both cubs want to play with her at the same time. She’s kinda funny in that sometimes she gets the cubs playing with her and then gets up to leave the nest box, and then the cubs then start playing with each other, so that she can have some "mommy me time.” Smooth move there, Lun Lun.

Stay tuned to see some further developments in Panda Land!
Katie G.
Keeper III, Mammals

Friday, December 23
Ya Lun and Xi Lun have finally noticed the toys we offer them while they are not with Lun Lun. These toys are only for the cubs because they are small, and Lun Lun would likely destroy them within seconds. I caught a cute video of Xi Lun playing with a chew toy. This particular toy was a favorite of Mei Lun and Mei Huan when they were very young as well. Check out the video on Zoo Atlanta Facebook, Instagram or Twitter later this afternoon, and enjoy!
Heather R.
Keeper III, Mammals

Thursday, December 22

We reached two big milestones today that I am so excited to share with everyone. Xi Lun crawled out of the nest box for the first time this morning! Which means that walking is only a short time away. Also this morning, Lun Lun decided that it was time for Ya Lun to go on an adventure into the dayroom. Lun Lun has had access to the dayroom for a while now to give her additional space and the opportunity to eat and play away from her cubs, but today is the first day she took a cub with her. The adventure entailed walking around the dayroom a little bit, and then Lun Lun put Ya Lun in a pile of bamboo to rest while she enjoyed a bamboo snack. Moving the cubs into the dayroom is all Lun Lun’s choice. We do not encourage or discourage this as we want Lun Lun to exhibit natural behaviors and have the freedom to take her cubs where she wants to. But to ensure that the cubs have time to adjust to the mulch floor, the brighter lights, and all the different sights and smells of the dayroom, we are keeping this area closed to guests for now. So you may see Ya Lun and Xi Lun in the dayroom on PandaCam, but the viewing area will not be open until they have all had time to adjust, explore, and get comfortable. Stay tuned for updates on when sightings may begin for Zoo guests! But don't fret - in the meantime, Yang Yang will continue to spend his days in the outdoor habitat for visitors to see.
Stephanie B.
Curator of Mammals

Bei Bei Update from the National Zoo
Jan. 10
"This update was written by giant panda keeper Nicole MacCorkle.

Bei Bei is continuing to recover well from his major surgery, and he started eating small amounts of bamboo again a few weeks ago. He now gets several meals of leaf eater biscuits, sweet potatoes and apples, and several bamboo feedings every day. He eagerly consumes all his food—much as he has since he was born. As part of his recovery process, we are still closely monitoring all of his food consumption, not just bamboo. And as a result, he is staying inside where we can more closely control and regulate what he eats. He will start going outside again soon, but we need to be sure that he doesn’t nibble on too much grass, leaves or other vegetation when he does.

Until Bei Bei is cleared to go outside by our veterinarians and nutritionists, he will spend his time inside the panda house—a place he is very familiar and comfortable with and has been spending time in since he was born. In addition to his feedings, he also is given several enrichment (play) items every day. He is a very flexible animal, and has adjusted remarkably well to all of the changes in his routine.

One of the ways we monitor Bei Bei is by his fecal production; it helps us determine how his gastrointestinal tract is recovering. So far, his stools have been normal and look like miniature versions of Mei Xiang’s. His weight is also a good indicator of how he’s feeling. He now weighs 109 pounds; he’s gained more than 10 pounds since his surgery—all good signs for a growing bear.

Now that Bei Bei is 16 months old and weighs more than 100 pounds, Mei Xiang is weaning him, which is completely normal. She does not always allow him to nurse as much as he might like, but he does not depend on her for his nutrition any longer. We noticed in the first few days following surgery that Mei Xiang seemed to be gentler with Bei Bei and even allowed him to nurse more than normal, but their relationship has returned to what it was before his surgery.

When Bei Bei is ready to go outside again, we’ll be sure to let everyone know. In the meantime, you can visit him inside the panda house. "


Picture from the National Zoo update.

Lots of Zoo Atlanta Updates. I will just include the pictures.

For the articles, visit the Panda Cam.
"Update: Lun Lun now has the option of bringing the cubs into their dayroom habitat. While there are no guarantees of seeing them just yet, lucky Zoo visitors may get a peek between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Keep your eyes peeled!"

ZA Update and a video from DoxieMom19
Wednesday, January 11
This week, we got a new species of bamboo for the pandas - Rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea). Rivercane, or canebreak, bamboo is the only bamboo species native to the United States. It is tall and thin with small, thin leaves, and the pandas prefer to eat the stalk, or the culm, but will sometimes eat the leaves, too. The pandas will only eat Rivercane when the weather has been extremely cold and it is harvested in cold temperatures. We took advantage of last week's cold snap to try some with the pandas. Lun Lun is eating and eating and eating right now to keep up her energy and milk supply for the twins. She prefers the species of bamboo that she can eat the culm and is really enjoying the Rivercane. The very first night she had Rivercane, she ate over 21 pounds (9.5 kilograms) of it in just 12 hours! The cubs are way too young to eat bamboo yet, but I saw both cubs playing with some of the shards that Lun Lun left behind. When pandas eat the culm of the bamboo, they strip off the outer layer and eat the softer, more nutritious inner part. The shards are the bits of that outer layer and tend to be about 6-8 inches long, depending on the piece and the panda. Shards are fun to chew on and manipulate when you are 4-month-old panda cubs!

Heather R.
Senior Keeper, Carnivores

Bao Bao Arrives in China
Feb. 22, 2017

"Bao Bao, her keeper Marty Dearie and Dr. Katharine Hope landed at China’s Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport around 6:59 p.m. CST after a 16-hour direct flight aboard the “FedEx Panda Express,” a custom-decaled 777F aircraft. Bao Bao ate, drank and slept normally during the smooth flight.

“Bao Bao was a real champion during the flight. All the weeks of training and preparation served her really well,” said Marty. “She’s in excellent hands now and I’m glad I get to transition with our Chinese partners and have my ‘goodbye’ in a couple days.”

Upon arrival in Chengdu, Bao Bao’s new keepers from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda drove her to Dujiangyan Panda Base where she will stay in quarantine for approximately 30 days. Marty will remain with Bao Bao for three days while she acclimates to her new home. It is not confirmed if Bao Bao will remain at Dujiangyan after the quarantine period has ended. She will enter the giant panda breeding program when she reaches sexual maturity between 5 and 6 years old.

Back in Washington, D.C. at the Zoo, the panda team is looking to the future. Bei Bei is already a year-and-a-half old! Giant panda cubs usually separate from their mothers around 18 months old, and Bei Bei is becoming more independent and confident every day. He is fully recovered from his emergency surgery this winter and is growing like a weed. Several months ago, we started seeing the first signs that Mei Xiang was preparing to wean him. She is much less accommodating for nursing sessions, which is normal because Bei Bei has not been nutritionally dependent on Mei Xiang for several months. Any nursing sessions he has are for comfort rather than food. He is 131 pounds now (much larger than Bao Bao was when she weaned from Mei Xiang) and eats nearly 90 pounds of bamboo (along with Mei Xiang) per day, 1/3 pound of apples, 1 pound of biscuits, and a little more than half of a pound of sweet potatoes every day.

Earlier today, keepers gave Mei Xiang and Bei Bei their first opportunity to spend time together in Yard 3, Bao Bao’s old yard. If Bei Bei becomes familiar with this yard while he is still living with Mei Xiang, then his transition to living on his own will be much smoother. Everything went well this morning.

Tian Tian also got a change of scenery today! He has access to both his regular yard and Mei Xiang’s yard which made him a very happy panda. He investigated all of Mei Xiang’s scent marks and did lots of scent-anointing (rubbing her scent all over his head). He appeared to be in a very playful mood acting more like a cub than a 19-year-old bear. He tumbled around the yard and even climbed a few trees!"
Picture and article from the Smithsonian National Zoo

From the National Zoo...

Mei Xiang is Showing Signs of Estrus
May, 23, 2017

Giant Panda Mei Xiang - photo by National Zoo

Mei Xiang, the Zoo’s 18-year-old female giant panda, is showing behavioral and physical signs of estrus. She has be[/img]en increasingly restless lately and has been calling to the Zoo’s resident male, Tian Tian, who has also spent a lot of time lately looking for Mei Xiang and calling for her. Mei Xiang has been pacing and has also been sloshing about in a pool of water in her enclosure—typical of both males and females ready to breed. Aside from behavioral changes, scientists have also noticed that Mei Xiang’s external genital area is swollen and pink—another indicator of estrus. Her urine samples, collected daily, also show a rise in her estrogen levels which indicates she is close to ovulation.

Panda breeding can often feel like a race against time, as female giant pandas are able to conceive for barely 36 hours each year in the spring. In that brief window, panda staff hope to give Mei Xiang and Tian Tian an opportunity to breed naturally. “The pandas haven’t successfully bred in the past, but we still give them the opportunity,” says Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas. Scientists also plan to artificially inseminate Mei Xiang with Tian Tian’s semen.

Then, it’s several months of waiting to determine if she becomes pregnant. Because giant panda fetuses are tiny and only develop toward the end of gestation, they aren’t detected in an ultrasound until a week or so before they’re born. In addition, pandas, like several other species, can undergo pseudo or false pregnancies, where they do everything they would if they were pregnant—sleeping and resting more as well as building a nest of bamboo in preparation for a cub. At the end of a pseudopregnancy, however, hormone levels return to baseline and females’ energy levels and behavior return to normal.

Although Mei Xiang has experienced several pseudopregnancies in the past, she has also produced three surviving cubs—Tai Shan, born in July of 2005; Bao Bao, born in August of 2013; and Bei Bei, born in August of 2015. Because Mei Xiang went into estrus a little later than usual this year, albeit still within the typical March to May timeframe, if she were to become pregnant, her offspring would most likely be born around the end of September.

Zoo staff are currently preparing for the arrival of their panda colleagues from China, who will assist the Zoo’s reproductive scientists with the artificial insemination process.

From FB:

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
May 26 at 7:40am ·
Our team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers performed two artificial inseminations on 18-year-old female giant panda Mei Xiang on May 25. Paws crossed for a little bundle of conservation success in 90-180 days!
Scientists and keepers had been closely monitoring Mei Xiang’s behavior and hormones for the past several weeks. Daily hormone reports showed Mei Xiang’s estrogen levels peaked May 24, an indication that she was ovulating and able to become pregnant. Female giant pandas are only in estrus, or able to become pregnant, for 24 to 72 hours each year.

National Zoo Panda Update on Mei Xiang

The panda team is still waiting to find out if Mei Xiang will give birth or if she is experiencing a pseudopregnancy. Giant pandas’ hormones and behavior mimic a pregnancy even if they are experiencing a pseudopregnancy. The only way to definitively tell if a female is pregnant before she gives birth is to detect a fetus on an ultrasound. Keepers and veterinarians have been working with Mei Xiang to make her comfortable with ultrasounds and incorporate them into her regular routine since July. She has been choosing to participate in them, and veterinarians have been tracking changes in her reproductive tract, but they have not seen anything definitive yet.

Specially trained volunteers with Friends of the National Zoo and the panda team began a 24-hour-a-day behavior watch on Mei Xiang Sept. 5. They are monitoring her through the panda cams and recording data on the different behaviors she displays. She has been exhibiting behaviors consistent with pregnancy and pseudopregnancy, as the panda team expected. She is usually more alert in the mornings and has been greeting keepers at the door to her enclosure when they start their day, but then spends most of her day sleeping. In the afternoons, she often wakes up and nest-builds in her den for short periods.

Since Mei Xiang is spending all of her time inside the panda house, which is closed to provide quiet for her, Tian Tian has been spending time in his yard and Mei Xiang’s yard. He has also been taking advantage of the cooler autumn temperatures that have descended on the Washington, D.C., area and occasionally naps outside.

Tian Tian had a routine blood draw yesterday, and really enjoyed the scent of the rubbing alcohol that veterinarians used to disinfect the area around the vein where they took the sample. After the blood draw he scent-anointed himself with the alcohol—rubbing it all over his ears, head and belly. Giant pandas will scent-anoint themselves with different smells that they like. He even stuck his arm back out in the blood draw position after he was finished, as if he was asking for more.

Bei Bei has been spending the majority of his time outside lately and is also enjoying the cooler weather. Last week, he played in his yard, lazily splashing in his pool, rolling around with puzzle feeders and balls, and napping in the trees. He is 165 pounds now and counting!