17th Exam: Wiggle Worm
Posted at 1:30 pm December 22, 2009 by Dani Dodge Medlin
Yun Zi was curled up like a puppy on the weight scale before being brought into the room for today’s exam. He was so cute there, sleepy and all curled up in a ball. His weight, 18.3 pounds (8.3 kilograms), showed he’s still growing at a steady pace.

Then, within moments, he just became a ball of wiggling fun. So much wiggle, in fact, there was no chance to measure his length today. (His cute little tail, though, was 3.9 inches or 10 centimeters.) And when a keeper did manage to hold him still for a moment’s measurement, he would squeak in protest. This little ball of black-and-white fur just wanted to play!

The keepers had left out a big blue ball, a small solid plastic ball, a plastic bucket, and slices of apple for Yun Zi to explore. And that’s what this little boy was determined to do. He knocked over the plastic bucket. He sniffed and rolled the apple on the ground. He sat up with his body draped over the hard plastic ball and then fell over backward, still holding on! When one of the keepers scratched his back, Yun Zi rolled over on his back, his mouth open, as if in laughter.

“He’s obviously teething,� said PK Robbins, one of the San Diego Zoo’s associate veterinarians. “He was also very exploratory. It was really good.� She said between his curious meanderings today, and the exploring he did in the private yard outside his den yesterday (often called the classroom exhibit), he’s making quantum leaps in exploring his environment.

Dani Dodge is a public relations representative for the San Diego Zoo.

video from Yun Zi’s outdoor explorations on December 21—enjoy!

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/?bcpid=4552241001&bclid=5172095001&bctid=58542704001

I got mine a couple days ago and love it!  It makes me miss M/K even more than I have been.

                           Kris

Anne,

So sorry about the loss of your father.

        Kris

A Whirlwind 16th Exam
Posted at 3:18 pm December 15, 2009 by Yadira Galindo
To summarize today’s panda cub exam:

Chest girth, 20 inches (51 centimeters)
Abdominal girth, 21 inches (53 centimeters)
Weight, 18.1 pounds (8.2 kilograms) and thus “extra robust� but healthy
Length: wiggly, thus “not today�
Gait, only turns to the right; strength, improving

It was another whirlwind Yun Zi checkup. Now that he’s figured out what his legs can do, he seems to be ready to use them during his exams. Once again the little guy only wanted to be on the floor where he could walk around among the giggling Zoo staff. He didn’t seem to care that we were chuckling at his expense…well, not at him, more because of him. His wobbly gait is something to make you smile and, yes, laugh out loud! Dr. PK Robbins (pictured below) pointed out that pandas “move a bit differently,� and that a panda’s “front legs learn quicker than the back legs.�

She wasn’t kidding! His front legs seem strong and much more coordinated than his back legs, which seem low to the ground in a crouch position. Pandas are pigeon toed, which makes Yun Zi’s wobble (it’s not really a walk) look even more comical. He insisted on showing off his newly developed skills, so most of what I could see was his rear end as he tried time and time again to get to the floor for a stroll. When he was in the arms of the keeper or Dr. Robbins, he would attempt to climb them.

Is this a sign he’s ready to start the next phase? I don’t know. What I do know is that Yun Zi was making us all snicker, especially after Dr. Robbins observed “he only turns to the right.� Every time he tried to move in a different direction he seemed to choose to turn right. Could it be because he’s still learning to use his motor skills and doesn’t know how to use his left turn signal? Or, was it simply the choice of a silly boy to make us laugh? I’m stumped. What I do know is that he was on the move so much that the Zoo’s nutritionist gave up on trying to get his measurements because he just couldn’t keep still; she finally sighed, “Not today!�

Today the staff at the Giant Panda Research Station was not in charge. Not today. It was a day when an 18-pound, 2-foot long, black-and-white bundle of fur ran the show.

Yadira Galindo is a senior public relations representative for the San Diego Zoo.


Video of exam below:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/?bcpid=4552241001&bclid=5172095001&bctid=57483627001

Hey Janet!  We had 17 inches of snow here last Thursday!       Thought you might've come up and enjoyed the scenery!   

Preparing for 2010 Eagle Season at NBG

Both eagles and humans are busy preparing for the upcoming 2010 bald eagle nesting season at Norfolk Botanical Garden. On Friday Dec 11 both the adult eagles were in the nest (photo - male on left, female on right -notice how much larger she is) bringing new sticks and pine straw. We humans were busy cleaning and connecting the camera and replacing the infrared (IR) light provided by Virginia DGIF so that we can all view nest activity at night. Nate Jones from Nuckols Tree Care and Joe Foreman from NBG went up in a lift to the camera 80 feet above ground. Stephen Living, DGIF biologists, and I remained on the ground checking the computer hookups and confirming that the camera was working and sending out a picture. Last night I confirmed that the IR light was working. You can view some of the photos I took yesterday and this morning on the eagle forum sites http://Norfolkeagles.com and http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/index.php?mforum=tdbc. At WVEC, Pete McElween is creating a new web page for the eagle cam, which is scheduled to begin broadcasting with an improved picture shortly after the holiday season.

We all hope you are getting as excited about our next bald eagle season as we are. Azalea has shown us around many parts of eastern Virginia and seems to be getting closer to her home at NBG. At The Center for Conservation Biology we are planning to fit another NBG eagle with a satellite transmitter in 2010. Where will she or he wander??

Reese Lukei, Jr - CCB

Very pretty Finches, Aafke.  Thanks!  My time was 4:07 classic 48 piece.

                        Kris

14th Exam: Panda Star
Posted at 4:36 pm December 3, 2009 by Jenny Mehlow
Keeper Kathy Hawk had her hands full this morning: during Yun Zi’s weekly exam, it was all she could do to keep a good grip on him! The panda keepers knew that the cub was getting too mobile to examine him on the table any more, so they rolled out the carpet this week to give Yun Zi more space to move around. Then, when Kathy set him down, all he wanted to do was move! Video now posted!


That 5 x 7 carpet just couldn’t contain him. He headed to the edge and walked toward the video camera. When Kathy picked him up to redirect him to the center of the carpet, he just turned right back around and headed to the light on the top of the camera. We know that he’s a star, but it looks like he’s a natural in front of the camera, too!

After keepers and vets let him crawl around a bit, they attempted an exam. But Yun Zi just wasn’t that into it. With the exam taking place on the floor, and Yun Zi being such a wiggle worm, I didn’t really get to see all of his great expressions. I just saw his raw determination to do what he wanted to do the way he wanted to do it. He was squeaking as Kathy held him while veterinarian Tracy Clippinger listened to his heart and lungs. And the squeaking continued when they held him to get a look at his ears and eyes. He has a few more teeth, and when Tracy was feeling around his mouth she assured us that he had a pretty good bite now.

In past exams, if Bai Yun hears her cub squeaking or give a bark during the cub exams, keepers can see her react on the panda monitors. With the cub so vocal today, keepers who were not participating in the exam kept a close eye on the monitors to see how Bai was doing. And how did she react? Well, let’s just say that she didn’t let baby’s squeals get between her and her bamboo. She kept sitting in her exhibit, leaning against a rock, chomping away. She didn’t seem fazed by any of Yun Zi’s squeals.

I didn’t take my own notes on his weight, lengths or girth (I’ll let the moderator add that at the end of this blog); I was just enjoying listening to his squeals and watching Kathy and Tracy try to wrangle a 17-week old panda. It was a lot like me trying to hold my cat, Austin, when he knows that I’m picking him up to carry him inside the house. He tries to find any way to go back to what he was doing – over my shoulder, under my arm, or just trying to take a flying forward leap. But despite Yun Zi’s best efforts and vocal protests, Kathy and Tracy held onto him and made it through the exam, even if they did have to cut it a bit short due to excessive wiggling.

Everything else in his development is looking good. Oh, I did note one measurement: for all those still enthralled with his tail, it still measures 7 centimeters (2.7 inches) and the black spot is still there. His leg muscles are coming along, and you’ll see in the video (that should be up on Friday) that he’s a panda on the move who wants to be heard!

After the quick exam, Kathy and Tracy let him crawl around on the carpet for a few more minutes. He kept heading toward the edge of the carpet and the lights on the camera – like a moth to a flame. He squealed some more as Kathy carried him back to his den. But when I checked Panda Cam on my way out of the Giant Panda Research Station 15 minutes later, he was already asleep and, I like to imagine, dreaming little panda dreams.

Jenny Mehlow is a public relations representative for the San Diego Zoo.

Note: Yun Zi weighed 15.9 pounds (7.2 kilograms).

Video below:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/?bcpid=4552241001&bclid=5172095001&bctid=54241016001

So sorry, Caitie.

Kris

After winning D.C.'s heart, Tai Shan is off to China
 
 By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 4, 2009; 11:21 AM

We knew this sad day was coming.

The National Zoo announced Friday morning that Washington's beloved adolescent giant panda, Tai Shan, is leaving his birthplace and being sent to China.

Tai Shan, the first surviving giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, will be sent in January or February 2010 to the People's Republic of China as stipulated in the agreement between the Zoo and the Chinese government, zoo officials said at a news conference. Although he has felt like ours since his birth at the zoo on July 9, 2005, "Tai" has always been Chinese property.

Under the long-term loan agreement that brought his parents to the United States -- which expires just over a year from now -- any offspring were to be sent to China when they turned 2.

The zoo paid China $600,000 for Tai Shan's original stay. In April 2007, the zoo announced a new agreement with China, allowing Tai Shan to stay in Washington for free for two more years. But those years passed quickly.

Zoo officials had asked for an additional extension that would have allowed Tai to stay an additional year but China declined the request. Now it seems that Tai's time here is about up.


The panda's return to China will end a four-year love affair between a town ruled by the blood sport of politics and a rotund, bamboo-munching, black-and-white bear.

Zoogoers have watched him grow from a squealing butter-stick-size infant to an almost 200-pound youth, and he has become the focus of a kind of panda-mania.

Since his debut Dec. 8, 2005, Tai Shan has been a superstar, drawing millions of visitors to the Northwest Washington zoo, and tens of millions of fans to the panda cams on the zoo's Web site.

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) once called Tai Shan Washington's most important citizen. The bear has been on wallpaper and the cover of magazines. He has been the subject of a documentary, the model for zoo merchandise and personal tattoos, and the inspiration for a fan club, Pandas Unlimited.

The zoo just announced his appearance on a postage stamp.

"I have two hearts with it," Frances Nguyen, founder of Pandas Unlimited, said in reaction to the news. "I'm very devastated, for my own selfish reason -- to see him, and photographing him for four years. It's hard.

"But I want to think positive for his future," said Nguyen, who met her husband at the zoo's panda compound. "Hopefully he'll find a mate, and he'll be surrounded by other panda bears. I don't want to see him be a lonely bachelor."


She said other panda lovers also are upset.

"People have different emotions," she said. "Some people think it's best for him to go. And some people are dealing with just hearing the news. It's a shock. We knew the time was going to come. We just didn't know when."

Giant pandas are native to China, where a devastating earthquake recently damaged the country's Wolong panda reserve.

Tai Shan's parents, Mei Xiang, 10, the female, and Tian Tian, 11, the male, also are at the zoo under an agreement -- a 10-year, $10 million loan.

They arrived almost exactly nine years ago, on Dec. 6, 2000, and their time in Washington is set to expire Dec. 6, 2010. Zoo officials said discussions over the details of their departure will likely begin in the spring.


The elder pandas were brought from China as part of a research, conservation and breeding program. But panda reproduction has been problematic in captivity. The zoo has tried and failed eight times to breed Mei Xiang. Tai Shan is her only offspring.

Zoo officials said on Friday they again will try to impregnate Mei Xiang this winter.

Giant pandas are endangered. There are only about 1,600 in the wild and slightly more than 200 in captivity.

Three other zoos in the United States have giant pandas: San Diego, Atlanta and Memphis.

The San Diego Zoo has sent two of its cubs to China. Hua Mei, a female born in 1999, left in 2004. Mei Sheng, a male who was born 2003, was sent in 2007.

San Diego currently has five giant pandas: two adults and three youngsters.

Last year, the San Diego Zoo negotiated a four-year extension on the 12-year loan of its two adult pandas.

[YAY,DONNA! Way to go!!]

   bguitar          YAY,DONNA! Way to go!!

yup!  It's snow!  Woke up to it this AM but first snow since April here so it's really late this year.   

[Happy Birthday, Kris!]

    Happy Birthday, Kris!  

Thanks, Bird Crazy!

  to everyone who sent me the beautiful birthday wishes!  I had a really nice day with Bill.  ( And to my friend Nicole-remember that you will always be one year older than I am!)   

[Tell Brian we wish him a Happy Thanksgiving! Kris]

Brian H wanted me to share his hopes for a very Happy Thanksgiving for everyone!

Tell Brian we wish him a Happy Thanksgiving!

                            Kris