Bird Cams Around the World

Friday, September 13
This past evening Deng Tao and I got to enjoy some fun cub vocalizations. During one of the swaps, he picked up the cub to bring him out of the den and for the first time I got to enjoy Deng Tao being startled by a cub. Up until now he has chuckled at us when we have moved the cubs and been startled by them vocalizing loudly at us. This time it was my turn to chuckle, and he got yelled at by Cub B. Then later in the evening, as we were cleaning Den 1 while Lun ate in Den 3 and Cub A was resting in Den 2, we were suprised to hear Cub A vocalizing in his sleep. He was moaning and making sharp little "barks" while his legs were going. We just looked at one another amused. Maybe he was dreaming.
Jenny E
Keeper III, Carnivores
Snuggling and Nursing

I thought that something was happening yesterday . When she left the little one down, then turned around and nobody there. Glad that things are going along fine at the Panda Cam. Thank you Carly for the update.

Thanks Carly!

"After the exam was completed Mei Xiang returned to her den and immediately picked up her cub and began grooming her."
I guess she had to get that funky human smell off her baby!

Heather Roberts, Keeper III, stays in the panda nursery overnight along with Deng Tao, our colleague from the Chengdu Research Base. Heather makes sure she captures everything you don’t get to see on PandaCam:

“Once the cubs started looking very similar and had become essentially the same weight, we came up with a system of keeping track of who was who. We placed the cub that was to be returned to Lun Lun facing towards her and the dens, and the cub we just took from Lun Lun was on the other side of the incubator facing the opposite direction. We continue to use this system now that the cubs are in the cub box. Generally, the cubs stay on their own side, but since they have gotten a little more mobile, one of them (usually Cub B) will work his way over to the other side for a little social time. Last night, during a swap while Cub A was waiting on his side of the box for Lun Lun to finish eating, Cub B scooted and wiggled until he was lying on top of his brother. It was so cute I had to capture a photo!“





Thanks for the pictures, Heather! Staying up all night has never been that cute!

Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder, PhD, helps us give Cub Confidential subscribers a greater understanding of giant pandas. Today, she answers more of your common cub questions.


Pictured: Lun Lun nursing Cub A
Do panda cubs receive any natural immunities from their mother’s milk as human babies can?
Giant panda cubs receive antibodies from their mother’s colostrum. We are not sure how long giant panda neonates can absorb antibodies from colostrum, but if it’s similar to other species, the first 24 hours after birth is critical for this. The twins both had opportunities to nurse in the first 24 hours after their birth, and we are happy about that. However, because of the swapping technique, they only had about half as much time to nurse in that 24-hour period as a single-born cub would have. The twins were fed some formula in the first 24 hours, because we were not able to swap them as frequently as we thought necessary. To help them receive additional antibodies, serum was added to the formula. This serum came from blood that we collected voluntarily from Lun Lun when she was pregnant. The concentration of antibodies in serum is lower than in colostrum, but it is still beneficial. So far, the twins have been healthy, which is a good sign that they received sufficient immunity from Lun Lun. However, they are still very young, and their immune systems are still developing. This is why it is so important that we protect them from disease by having a strict bio-security protocol in place for the nursery and by limiting the number of people allowed in the nursery.

What does the cubs' fur feel like?
The cubs appear to have soft, fluffy fur, but it's actually very coarse and wooly just like adult giant panda fur. The texture and density makes it great for insulation. Wild giant pandas live in cool, wet forests with dense undergrowth. They need to have fur that keeps them warm and dry in that environment. Their fur provides such great insulation, that they can comfortably sleep for hours on snow. The twins' coats are very full now. Their fur will continue to grow longer and denser over the next couple of months.

Thanks, Rebecca. Mama’s milk has to be a reason why the cubs’ fur looks so full and fluffy!

Another pic of Sweet Mei and her Chubby Cubby!

Mei Xiang has started putting the cub down for longer periods of time! Over the weekend and this morning when the keepers entered her den to continue their den training routine, Mei placed the cub on the ground and focused on the keepers the entire time. She drank all the diluted apple juice keepers offered her in exchange for participating in the training session – and even seemed to want more after she had finished it. Mei also feels comfortable leaving the cub several times each day to eat and drink in her adjacent indoor enclosure.


Thank you to Flickr user debbie.parente for uploading this screen grab to the #cubwatch page!

Heather Roberts, Keeper III, loves keeping Cub Confidential subscribers updated on everything panda cubs! Here’s what you may have missed over the weekend:

“Saturday morning I was cleaning one of the dens adjacent to the nest box den. Lun Lun was in the other den eating bamboo, and Cub A was in the nest box resting. Apparently, Cub A did not like the noises I was making while cleaning and started squawking. He squawked three times before I could leave the area. A squawk is a short burst of sound and can be extremely loud. Squawks are a sign of distress and usually bring a mother running back to the nest if she is close by. Lun Lun clearly knew the cub was in no danger and continued eating as if nothing had happened. Now that the cubs are becoming more visual and their ears are opening up, they are more aware of the world around them. New sights and sounds can be scary, and it's better to be safe and call for mom at this age. Both cubs will eventually become accustomed to the typical noises in the building, but it may take a little time.”

Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder, PhD, tackled a few more of our most frequently asked panda questions and answered exclusively for Cub Confidential:

Why is there a pinkish color to the cubs’ fur in some areas?
The pinkish cast you might notice on the cubs’ fur comes from iron containing pigments called porphyrins in Lun Lun’s saliva. Because of this, the coloration appears on the cubs’ heads and necks and in the anogenital area. These are the areas that come in contact with Lun Lun’s saliva most frequently. This discovery was made by Dr. Mark Edwards and Dr. Alisa Newton several years ago when they were working at the Zoological Society of San Diego. They found that the pinkish coloration first appears when cubs are about 70 days old and fades gradually to white by the time cubs are about 250 days old. I first noticed the pinkish coloration on the twins when they were about 60 days old. Currently, it’s more noticeable on Cub A, which is helpful because it’s another way we can tell the twins apart.

When the cubs vocalize, does Lun Lun vocalize in return?
Lun Lun does not usually vocalize in response to vocalizations made by the cubs. If she is looking for her cub, she will bleat. Bleating is an affiliative vocalization. It sounds similar to a sheep or goat bleat. Giant pandas use this vocalization during breeding season to attract mates, and mothers direct it to their cubs. Lun Lun also uses this sound to call to her cubs when they are older and she wants them to come to her or follow her. The twins are not capable of bleating yet. The sounds they make are specific to young cubs. They won’t start making a bleat sound until they are at least 1 year old. Even then, it is used rarely by cubs. Older cubs tend to make whining type sounds the most. They use these sounds to let their mother know they are hungry or if a playmate is being too rough.

Is there a visual way yet to tell A from B? Are there differences in their eye patches?
Right now, the main way we can tell Cub A from Cub B is by looking at the black bands across their shoulders. Cub A’s band is thinner, and Cub B’s band is wider or broader. I remember this by associating the “b” from the word broad for Cub B. Cub B still usually weighs more than Cub A. Again, a helpful reminder is that Cub B is associated with the “b” in the word bigger. Cub A also has more dark markings around his mouth than does Cub B. These markings might change as the cubs mature, but the difference in the width of the shoulder band will likely remain for life. Eventually, the twins’ faces will be more distinctive in shape and markings too. But at this age, their heads are growing rapidly, and so their faces are changing. The eye patches might vary when they get older, but for now that is not an easy way to distinguish the cubs.

Thanks, Rebecca. The twins are growing so fast; we can’t wait for them to play with each other and Mom.

Mama Bear is Getting Good Rest!

Lun Lun is such a great mother! Watch mama bear care for her two bundles of joy on PandaCam!

We’ve noticed that the nest box is very clean. Babies usually make a mess! What happens to the waste when Lun Lun stimulates the cubs to defecate and urinate? Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder, PhD, gives Cub Confidential subscribers the scoop on the poop:

“We have mentioned in previous updates that the cubs cannot, yet, urinate and defecate on their own. This is normal for young carnivores, including puppies and kittens. The mother licks the young to stimulate voiding waste, and she consumes the waste. This sounds really gross, but it’s normal for carnivore moms. It also serves the important purpose of keeping the nest/den clean. This keeps harmful bacteria from growing, reduces the chance of parasites accumulating, and makes it harder for predators to find the den. The cubs will start to urinate and defecate on their own at around four months of age. This is also when the cubs will be able to walk well, and thus it is when the den phase ends for giant pandas. Young carnivores of other species also start to void on their own when the den phase ends.”


Heather Roberts, Keeper III, has been with the cubs since Day 1! She shares this update exclusively with Cub Confidential:
“Now that we are swapping the cubs every six hours, Lun Lun is able to take longer naps. Caring for one infant is very tiring for a panda mother, but caring for the twins has been exhausting for Lun Lun. Even though she only has one cub at a time, when they had to nurse every two to four hours, she pretty much constantly had a hungry cub! Now that the cubs are older, they can go six to eight hours between nursing bouts. So Lun Lun has more time to herself for eating and sleeping without disturbance, and she is taking full advantage of this time. She is clearly more rested now than she was for the first six weeks after the cubs were born.”

Thanks, Heather! Lun Lun needs the rest. Soon the cubs will be walking, and she’ll need the energy to keep up with both of them!