San Diego Giant Pandas

[Kris G.]

Bai Yun's baby is getting BIG!  

[annieinelkhart]

I have an AWWWWW moment every time I see that little one!  The other day Mom was gone and that little one was on it's back and rolling all around!  They kept zooming the cam in, I think to see if they could tell boy or girl!  My guess . . .Baby boy.   

[Donna]

Momma's eating Bamboo.....baby  rolling around in the hay. Sooo cute.

[jeanne]

OMG!!!  Precious baby!  I went to the national zoo in washington specifically to see Tai Shan!  He was a year old but he was so adorable.  His mom was so tired!  No wonder, he was always on her back!   

[Dumpsterkitty]

Cubbie's nursing while Momma's having a snack too!

[Dumpsterkitty]

OMG!!!  Precious baby!  I went to the national zoo in washington specifically to see Tai Shan!  He was a year old but he was so adorable.  His mom was so tired!  No wonder, he was always on her back!   

Funny-i did the same thing!  I had a family reunion in the mountains of Virginia, but I took the long way around to stop in DC to see Tai Shan...spent the whole day just hanging out with the pandas.  Climbing on Mom was always his favorite pastime.

 

A couple of pics I took...it was about a week after his 1st birthday.

[Dumpsterkitty]

It's a boy!



Panda Blog

[jeanne]

How cute!  I love the pictures!!!  I have to dig out some of mine!

And how adorable this little one is!  But aren't they all!

[jeanne]

These are pictures of Tai Shan and his mom -- and his napping mother

[Donna]

These are pictures of Tai Shan and his mom -- and his napping mother

[size=15 pt]Great pics jeanne and very good, (you learned fast)! 

Donna[/size]

[jeanne]

BUt I noticed that clicking on the pictures doesn't make them look good.  Out of focus.  Am I doing something weird?

[Kris G.]

I Can See Clearly Now
Posted at 4:03 pm September 29, 2009 by Yadira Galindo
At eight weeks old, our not-so-little panda cub now has both eyes open. According to our veterinary resident, Amanda White, DVM, his eyesight isn’t acute enough to see us plainly, but during today’s checkup I could see clearly that pandas rule.


When keeper Kathy Hawk walked in cradling the cub in his blue blankie, I couldn’t help but be all smiles. I’ve been at each of the previous four exams helping to document his progress for you to see and for our own work, of course! Each week he looks different – usually a little rounder – which makes me grin from ear to ear. The cub mesmerizes me, and, like today, I sometimes forget I should be writing down important data like his weight. He was a whopping 6.4 pounds (2.9 kilograms) today, which is an increase of less than one pound from last week, but it shows around his midsection, his face, his paws…really, it shows everywhere. He measured 19.68 inches (50 centimeters) long, but it’s his overall girth that seems to make him look gigantic compared to the previous veterinary exam. Maybe it’s all fur. Yeah, that’s what we’ll blame it on!

Today it was his eyes that kept catching my attention. Those sleepy, dark little eyes that looked at you but had a soft gaze. Amanda says he can see, as evidenced by his squinting at her light. Still, it will take a little more time for his eyesight to make out shapes and track movement. All I know is I couldn’t take my eyes off him, especially the two or three times he yawned, opening his mouth so wide I could almost see down his throat. No sign of teeth yet, just the pink gum line.

For the first couple of minutes he seemed sleepy, barely keeping those precious eyes open, and was yawning. He waved a little paw here and there as he was flipped around for a look at his underside or a paw. Halfway through the exam he seemed to have a lot more to say and began to grunt and make a few soft objections. The Panda Team tried to comfort him by massaging his back (they were really trying to feel his backbone, but he’s so robust, it’s almost like he doesn’t have one!). This usually relaxes him but not this day. He kept on protesting. Taking a cue from him, the team speeded up their exam. I looked up at a monitor to see what mom, Bai Yun, was doing, and she kept glancing at the den door. She was obviously hearing his little complaints but I think the bamboo was extra fresh and she kept eating, that is until the little guy felt the prick of his first vaccination and let out a big yelp.

I don’t know about everyone else in the room, but I held my breath and immediately looked over to see that Bai Yun had made her way to the den door, wanting to get in and check on the cub. It was the first of a series of vaccines and he’s quite fine. But when a panda says, “I’m done,� well, the exam is immediately concluded so that Bai Yun could comfort her little fellow. Clearly it’s the pandas that run these checkups. We’re just along for the ride.

[jeanne]

Such a sweet baby!!!

[Donna]

Such a sweet baby!!!

  so cuddly adorable 

[jeanne]

My dream would be to go to the woolong center that has the baby pandas and then to hold one.   OMG!