PANDAS ~ 2011 & 2013

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Aug 06, 2013 5:26 pm

Tuesday, August 6
Lun Lun is now fairly regularly leaving the cubs for extra meals and potty breaks. Usually, we watch her from our AV room where we have multiple monitors set up with two different views of her den. When she gets up and leaves the cub, we will head into the hallway and see what she is up to. When she is hungry, she almost always meets us at the front of her adjacent den. If we peek in and see her sitting there, we know it is her way of telling us that she wants food. Up until recently, Lun Lun hasn't been comfortable with us closing the shift door between her and the cub, but today she has allowed us to do so, twice. We are swapping the cubs every four hours, but these times in between give us the opportunity to even more closely monitor the cubs. While Lun Lun eats, we are able to take the cub, weigh him, and keep him warm until she is ready to return to him. This is great for her because she can focus on eating without a fussy cub yelling at her. It is also helpful for us because we are able to get a mid-swap weight. With all of the necessary appliances and air conditioning running in the building, it can sometimes be difficult to hear the cub nurse unless Lun Lun has him completely uncovered. Getting a mid-swap weight allows us to more accurately gauge how much milk the cub is getting when he nurses, especially if we can't confidently say that he has nursed for a significant amount of time. If the cub hasn't gained much weight or decreases in weight, we know that he needs more time with mom so he can continue to grow big and strong. We also keep a close eye on the cub in the incubator. If he starts to get fussy, we know that he is getting hungry and will need to be swapped sooner. As many keepers have said before, happy pandas means happy keepers. This is true for the cubs now too!
Jennifer A.
Keeper I, Mammals

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:19 pm

Mini Pandas
The cubs are growing so fast!
Before you know it, they'll be active balls of fur, playing with mom!

Jen Web, Keeper I, loves spending time watching Lun Lun with her cubs. She couldn't wait to share this with our Cub Confidential subscribers:

"Lun Lun is rather comical when she has cubs. I’m used to her normal no-nonsense, wham-bam-done and thank-you-very-much personality. But when she has cubs, she’s really cute and she does everything slowly. Like any mother, she has her ways of doing things. This includes how she lies down and the method she takes to get into position. For example, if the cub is being fussy she will sometimes sit up, spin around, and then hunch over in the front corner of her nest box, shoving her face in the corner. It doesn’t look very comfortable, but the cub almost always quiets. When we are ready for a cub swap, sometimes Lun is already “in position” – which is facing the bars, either lying down or sitting up. If she isn’t “in position” and she realizes that we would like to swap her cub for a yummy piece of sugarcane, she always gets “in position” in the same way: this funny forward roll with a spin-kick. It’s hard to describe but super cute to watch. She rolls, spins, pushes off against the wall with her hind feet – whatever is required to move and keep her little one happy at the same time."

Thanks, Jen! We know Lun Lun will do whatever it takes to take care of her cubs – even a spin move off the wall!

With our Veterinary and Animal Management Team in the Panda Nursery 24/7, they take the cutest pictures of our cubs.
Take a look at a couple of the pictures Jen snapped for us:

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 63650

Catbird · **Posted:** Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:09 pm

Ah, such sweet panda cubs!

And for more pandas, there are now lots of live cams from China with lots of different pandas. I heard about this on the news tonight and checked it out online. Here's a description I found from News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City:

http://live.ipanda.com/

Here are a couple of pictures I took from the cams at http://live.ipanda.com/ a short while ago.

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:47 pm

No matter how big or tiny, they are fun to watch! Thanks Catbird!

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 63650

Thanks so much, Catbird...they are sooooooooooooooo cute!!!

Now, if any of you have about 30 minutes to spare, Zoo Atlanta did an On Air broadcast yesterday with Dr. Rebecca Snyder..it was interesting..

....and if you don't have that kind of "spare" time..this is cute:

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 63650

Update on Mei Xiang at the National Zoo:

August 6

As we continue to watch Mei Xiang in hopes of a new addition to the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, we have noticed some behavioral changes in our female giant panda. In the past few days Mei has become much less interested in interacting with her keepers, and she continues to be very sensitive to noise. She chooses to spend most of her time inside sleeping, and has rarely gone outside in the past few days. These behaviors are normal and even expected as we come to the end of a pregnancy or pseudopregancny.

We are noticing other typical behaviors that Mei exhibits every year when nearing the end of a pseudopregnancy or pregnancy. She briefly cradled one of her toys. She is less interested in food, and as a result her bamboo intake has significantly decreased. Mei usually finds the produce and biscuits that keepers give her as a delicious snack, but now she is choosing not to finish them.

What Mei is interested in, however, is her nest. Mei has been building her nest since early July and it continues to grow. This year we are controlling the size of her nest by offering her smaller stalks of bamboo. By giving her smaller pieces, the keepers and veterinarians will get an even better view of her nest, making it even easier to monitor her behavior — and the behavior of a potential cub. You can watch Mei make progress on her nest from the panda cams, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

gigi · **Posted:** Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:10 pm

Very interesting. Loved seeing the switch and Lun Lun does not seem to mind at all.

Lots of good information from Dr. Snyder.
Thanks for posting those here SGB! :girlluv:

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:19 pm

My sister sent me this video from the Boston Globe showing the day to day changes in the cutest cubbies in the world.
Just love those little panda squeaks! :flirty:

http://bcove.me/zoy5d5j5

Westend old bird · **Joined:** Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:01 pm **Posts:** 958

Thank You for the video, Gigi

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 63650

Thanks gigi...and here's the vid...embedded..

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 63650

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....poor Lun Lun...and what a cute pic...

thanks Carly!!!

gigi · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 5:49 pm

A mom has gotta nap when ever she can. Luckily Lun Lun has Panda Nannies awaiting!

Beth · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:08 pm

Just love all the posts and cute-cute pics/videos...thank you :))
These guys are sweet as they come!!!

gigi · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 6:00 pm

oh so true carly :flirty:

Beth · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 6:48 pm

gigi · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:52 pm

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

That's right, our two cubs are officially 1 month old today! Rebecca Snyder, PhD, our Curator of Mammals, remembers the first night they were born:

"I remember worrying over them the first night and saying to Dr. Sam, 'I cannot wait until they are a month old.' I thought if we could get them to 1 month old we would be in good shape. Dr. Sam wanted to fast forward to 4 months old. I’m sure he continued to feel that way since he worked 12-hour night shifts with them for the first month. The month flew by for me, and everything is going great! We do have to remain vigilant about their care and health, though. They will still be vulnerable for the next couple of months. But, each day that they remain healthy and gain weight is a triumph!"

Thanks, Rebecca. Time flies, and the cubs are growing so fast! By the way … anyone wondering why we’re mentioning this today and not on August 15, since they were born on July 15? Our veterinarians count them at 1 month old at four weeks. That’s today!

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:16 pm

Thanks carly. Every day I think "Can they get any cuter?" and everyday the answer is yes! :loveshow:

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:40 pm

A new milestone: Weighing more than a kilogram?
That might not sound like a big deal, but it is for someone who only weighed slightly more than 145 grams at birth!
Keeper Jennifer Andrew shares an update on the cubs’ weights:

“Last night, Cub B reached a new milestone. He now weighs over one kilogram (2.2 pounds)!
This might not seem like much, but if you look back to the day the cubs were born, this is quite a feat.
When the cubs were born, Cub A and Cub B only weighed 99.1 grams and 145.3 grams, respectively.
In just one month, they have grown and developed a lot!
They are no longer pink and fuzzy, but have almost full coats and their relatives’ signature black-and-white markings.
Being the smaller of the cubs, Cub A is usually one step behind his brother developmentally.
Don’t worry – we expect him to reach this milestone today!”

It's OK, boys. You'll sail past 200 pounds soon enough.
For now, we're savoring your cub-hood and weights in grams!
Thanks to Dr. Hayley Murphy for the photo above.
Move over, bro ...

Looks like there's plenty of room for everyone in the incubator. Is Mom taking a meal break?
We can't wait to see these guys play! Thanks to Jen Webb for the cozy view.

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PANDAS ~ 2011 & 2013

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