20-Apr-23, 07:44:45 AM
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Other Nature Related Information / Other Nature Web Cams / Re: Atlanta Zoo Pandas
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on: 04-Sep-16, 02:38:02 PM
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Panda Updates
Sunday, September 4
We have officially entered Day 2, and the cubs are doing well. We breathe a little easier after the first 72 hours. Not to say that they are not still very fragile, but the first 72 hours are very critical for establishing good nursing with Lun Lun. At this point, we are looking for positive weight gain, normal feces and urination when cubs are stimulated to go, and that Lun Lun is feeling good, producing a good milk supply, and is starting to eat and drink well.
The addition of two brand new, state of the art incubators from the Dräger company has been so amazing! We are able to control the temperature and humidity to within one-tenth of a degree (%), which is very important for these babies. We are forever grateful for this donation!
The cub swaps are going very well also. Lun Lun has “been there and done that," and so have we, so we have established a great routine already and Lun Lun has been very accommodating. We are swapping the cubs every two hours to make sure that they each get enough mom time, but if one seems hungry before the two-hour mark and we have confirmed that the other cub has nursed (determined by very close observations done by our nursery keepers), we may swap a little sooner also. During the swap, each cub is weighed, checked to make sure it appears hydrated and pink, and checked to see if it has to go to the bathroom. Once the cub that just left Lun Lun is settled into the incubator, the cub that has been in the other incubator is returned to Lun Lun. This all happens pretty quickly, and while the veterinarians and Chinese colleagues are working with the cubs, our dedicated keepers are making sure Lun Lun gets a chance to eat and drink. Pandas will not take care of their own needs very well during this neonatal stage, so we help her out and she has been doing very well. That's all for now -- take care and watch us on PandaCam!
Dr. Hayley
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1360
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Other Nature Related Information / Other Nature Web Cams / Re: Atlanta Zoo Pandas
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on: 03-Sep-16, 06:24:01 PM
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From Zoo Atlanta Panda Updates
Saturday, September 3
We are here in the giant panda nursery and are so excited to report on the birth of Lun Lun’s second set of twins!
We received the call that Lun Lun was having contractions early this morning and all rushed to the panda building. We didn’t have to wait long before she gave birth to a very loud, very healthy-looking cub. As usual, she is such a great panda mom that she picked the cub up right away and started taking care of it. Because we had seen two cubs on ultrasound, we anxiously awaited the birth of a second. As we all know, there are never any guarantees that giant pandas will give birth, even after we have seen cubs on ultrasound, because they can sometimes reabsorb a fetus. Lun Lun didn’t disappoint us, though, and 47 minutes later, Cub B was born! Talk about excitement!
Because giant panda cubs are so altricial, (meaning that they are born in a very dependent and helpless manner requiring extensive care from their moms to survive), and because we know that it is difficult for giant pandas to provide this extensive maternal care for more than one cub at a time, often resulting in the death of one of the pair of babies, we were prepared to go into the twin-swapping mode that we utilized last time. We are so grateful that Lun Lun is such an amazing panda and that we had such great experiences from the last time she had twins, and Mei Lun and Mei Huan taught us so much!
The first cub that we were able to swap out was actually her firstborn (called Cub A for now). This is because Lun Lun set Cub A down on the floor of the den when she delivered Cub B. This can be a very dangerous time for the newborn cub, because the mom is so focused on taking care of the newest arrival that she can inadvertently roll on or sit on the firstborn. We were able to get Cub A out of the den while she focused on Cub B. Cub A was rushed to our cub incubator and assessed to be very healthy, weighing in at 109.2 grams! While we have a cub with us in the nursery, we take the opportunity to examine it for any obvious problems, weigh it, and we keep it very warm and moist (by keeping the humidity and temperatures in the incubator high), and it is snuggled under warm, soft blankets. This is to mimic the conditions of being held so snugly by Lun Lun. Cub A stayed nice and warm in the incubator, and we suspected that Cub A had nursed because he/she (too early to tell) seemed very content. Despite being so fragile, the cubs definitely let you know when they are ready for the next meal, and Cub A was no different, starting to get restless after about two hours in the incubator. We took this as a sign to try the swap, and when Lun Lun was in a position near the doorway, we removed Cub B and placed Cub A back with her for some mommy time!
Again, we have had experience doing this from when we did this with Mei Lun and Mei Huan, and it certainly helps to have our very knowledgeable and experienced colleagues here from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding who have had years of experience doing this! So, we finally were able to meet Cub B, and boy, does he/she look great also. Very strong, and, of course, loud, and weighing in at 132 grams! Hopefully, all will continue to go well here, and we know everyone out there is pulling for these babies! Anytime we can help to conserve endangered species like this through our research and breeding efforts, as well as excellence in animal care, it is a huge success!
Dr. Hayley, Dr. Sam and Dr. Kate
Zoo Atlanta Veterinarians http://youtu.be/bhEqgRxcmOA |
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1364
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Other Nature Related Information / Other Nature Web Cams / Re: Atlanta Zoo Pandas
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on: 03-Sep-16, 08:15:55 AM
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From Zoo Atlanta website
Giant panda cub born at Zoo Atlanta
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Lun Lun has been confirmed to be expecting twins, but only one cub has been born so far
Lun Lun, a 19-year-old giant panda at Zoo Atlanta, gave birth to a single cub at 7:20 a.m. on September 3, 2016. As recent ultrasounds have confirmed that Lun Lun was carrying twins, birthwatch continues for the delivery of her second cub. The Animal Management and Veterinary Teams are monitoring the single cub and Lun Lun, who appears to be providing appropriate maternal care.
It is possible for giant panda twins to be born days apart. While the Animal Management and Veterinary Teams continue 24-hour watch for the birth of the second cub, there remains the possibility that the second fetus may be resorbed, or reabsorbed, and will thus not be born. Fetal resorption is not uncommon in giant pandas, and may happen at any time during a giant panda pregnancy. As recently as an August 28 ultrasound, the Veterinary Team had detected the presence of two fetuses with heartbeats.
“We’re very excited about welcoming a new giant panda cub and continue to remain optimistic for the arrival of its twin. Because we know that giant panda fetuses can be resorbed, resulting in failed pregnancies, we are aware that this could be a possible outcome,” said Hayley Murphy, DVM, Vice President of Animal Divisions. “We continue to keep a close eye on Lun Lun and her newborn to ensure that the cub has the best possible chance of thriving.”
Giant panda cubs, which are born nearly hairless, blind and barely larger than a small cell phone, are some of the animal kingdom’s most fragile newborns, and their early days of life are critical. A preliminary veterinary checkup will be performed as soon as the team is able to temporarily remove the cub without disrupting Lun Lun’s care. The Zoo team is joined by two colleagues from the Zoo’s partner in giant panda conservation, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Lun Lun was artificially inseminated on March 28, 2016, and round-the-clock birthwatch began on August 22, 2016. Since the time of the artificial insemination, the Animal Management and Veterinary Teams have been conducting regular ultrasounds and monitoring Lun Lun’s behavior, as well as monitoring hormone analyses conducted by David Kersey, PhD, an expert in giant panda endocrinology from Western University of Health Sciences.
The cub, which is the first giant panda born in the U.S. in 2016, is the sixth for Lun Lun and 18-year-old male Yang Yang. Their first three offspring, male Mei Lan (born 2006), male Xi Lan (born 2008) and female Po (born 2010), now reside at the Chengdu Research Base. Their fourth and fifth offspring, 3-year-old females Mei Lun and Mei Huan, reside at Zoo Atlanta and are the only twin giant pandas in the U.S.
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