FIRST SNOW DAY FOR PANDA CUB!

Tuesday, March 19, starting at 7 a.m., we are preparing for snow in the panda exhibits. We are very excited and thankful to all the panda fans who donated money to give this wonderful enrichment to our giant pandas. I am sure we will see you at 9 a.m. sharp in person or starting around 8 a.m. on the Panda Cam!
It’s a bit of a process to actually make snow and put it in the exhibits. We have a truck that comes in and is specially designed to turn large ice blocks into snow. There are large hoses that we can hold and deliver (spray) snow into the entire panda exhibit. Snow will be blown into Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu’s north exhibit and into Gao Gao’s exhibit in the main viewing area.

Sadly, Yun Zi’s new tree will not be done in time (due to a couple of days of rain), and he will stay housed next to Bai Yun and Mr. Wu for a few more days. But don’t fret! Yun Zi will be getting snow, too, and we will make sure he has a mound of it to play in.

We are all excited to see how brave Mr. Wu is and what his first reaction will be when he puts his paws in it. Hopefully, it will be a wonderful play day for both bears and guests!

Jennifer Becerra is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Here’s Zhen Zhen when she saw her first snow:

Panda Files: "Just The Facts"

They seem pretty quiet, but giant pandas can bleat, roar, growl, and honk.

Giant pandas are technically carnivores, but they have adapted to live mostly on bamboo. They will eat small mammals if they can catch them, though!

Like other types of bears, giant pandas are curious and playful, especially when they’re young. In zoos, they like to play with enrichment items like piles of ice or sawdust, puzzles made of bamboo with food inside, and different scents like spices.

Giant pandas have unusually thick and heavy bones for their size, but they are also very flexible and like to do somersaults.

The People's Republic of China sent two giant pandas, Basi and Yuan Yuan, to the San Diego Zoo for a 200-day loan in 1987. More than two million people were able to view the pandas during their stay.

On August 21, 1999, Bai Yun gave birth to Hua Mei, the first giant panda born in North America to survive to adulthood. Millions of people around the world watched Hua Mei grow up via the Zoo's Panda Cam.

In 1979, the Zoo began working with Chinese zoos to help many of China's endangered animals, including red pandas, takins, and Manchurian cranes.

A panda narrator is at the panda's main viewing area daily to share the latest news and to answer guests' questions about the "bamboo bears."
Bamboo is grown on Zoo grounds and at several off-grounds locations to supply the pandas with their daily meals.

Giant Panda Cub Debut This Week At The San Diago Zoo

This week the San Diago Zoo debuted it's new star.  Here is a gallery of photos taken this afternoon as the new star, Xiao Liwu, explores his new home.
  The San Diego Zoo has had a love affair with giant pandas ever since two of the black-and-white bears came to visit in 1987. After years of red tape and tons of application paperwork, the Zoo and China agreed on a 12-year research loan of two giant pandas, Bai Yun and Shi Shi. A brand-new exhibit area was built for our panda guests, which has since been expanded and renovated and is now called the Giant Panda Research Station. We currently have four giant pandas—Bai Yun, Gao Gao, Yun Zi, and our newest cub, born on July 29, 2012.

Our pandas enjoy deluxe accommodations with larger exhibit areas and extra vegetation and climbing structures. You'll enjoy the newer exhibit area too, with its winding, elevated viewing paths that give great panda-watching opportunities of the two main enclosures.


Visiting the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park helps support our studies of wild giant panda populations. San Diego Zoo Global established its first conservation science program for wild pandas at the Foping Nature Reserve in China in 2006. The program utilizes radiotelemetry to research several important areas to futher our understanding of natural giant panda behavior and ecology. These include mating strategies and genetic diversity of panda populations, denning ecology, habitat use and movement patterns, and human disturbance.

"Long day time for a little nap."

Panda Files: "First Time"

San Diego Zoo’s Panda Cub Explores Outside Habitat, Greets Public for First Time

     It was a big day for the San Diego Zoo’s panda cub, Xiao Liwu: this was his first time in front of onlookers. The cub stepped into the outside habitat by himself this morning and climbed through the bamboo as employees and media representatives got their first glimpses of the five-month-old cub.

     Panda staff say the cub is a confident climber but may have some tumbles while he’s getting used to the new habitat, which is very normal. There are trees, a moat and rocks to climb over, which are all new elements for the cub.

     Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild, and the species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the People’s Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China.Photo taken on Jan. 9, 2013, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

The Panda Files: "Look Into My Eyes"

   SAN DIEGO – As Xiao Liwu gains strength in his legs, the curious 18-week-old giant panda cub is exploring more, even getting near the camera for an up-close view of his black and white markings. As the cub, whose name means “little gift,” develops, mother Bai Yun will take him into other rooms for the cub to explore in their off-exhibit area. Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu can be seen in action daily online at www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam. Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild, and the species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the People’s Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China.Photo taken on Dec. 4, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

The Panda Files: "Barking Up a Tree"

Panda Cub Xiao Liwu, Barking Up a Tree
SAN DIEGO- San Diego Zoo keepers placed a small section of a tree branch and some fresh bamboo on the ground for the panda cub’s 17thexam this morning. Xiao Liwu was eager to explore and climbed over the branch while practicing his coordinated climbing skills for keepers. The 19-week-old panda weighed 14 pounds this morning when he was brought in for his weekly veterinary exam and continues to grow. Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild, and the species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the People’s Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China.Photo taken on Dec. 13, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

The Panda Files: "New Year, New Adventures"

New Year, New Adventures for the San Diego Zoo’s Panda Cub
     The San Diego Zoo’s panda cub, Xiao Liwu, started the New Year with a clean bill of health from his veterinarians. During his 20th exam this morning there was bamboo to snack on and various toys including a doughnut- shaped plastic ring (perfect for panda sitting) to play with and a wooden log to climb over.

     The 22-week-old panda weighed 16 pounds this morning and keepers say he is confidently climbing and full of energy.

     Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild, and the species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the Peoples Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China.
Photo taken on Jan. 1, 2013, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

Panda Files: “All Mine and I’m Not Sharing!”

San Diego Zoo’s Panda Cub, “All Mine and I’m Not Sharing!”

     The San Diego Zoo’s panda cub, Xiao Liwu, was eager to play with a plastic ball during his 18th exam this morning and made it clear that he did not want to share his new toy by holding onto the ball tightly. Panda keepers gave the cub the new toy to test his coordination and encourage him to play with new objects.

     The 20-week-old panda weighed 14.5 pounds this morning when he was brought in for his weekly veterinary exam and is on track with other giant pandas born at the San Diego Zoo.

    Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild, and the species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the People’s Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China.
Photo taken on Dec. 18, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

The Panda Files: San Diego Zoo's Panda Cub Naming

San Diego Zoo Panda Cub Is a “Little Gift” Named Xiao Liwu

Name Selected by Public in Online Vote

     The San Diego Zoo unveiled the name of the sixth giant panda born at the Zoo during a public ceremony on Tuesday. Rick Gulley (left) president of the San Diego Zoo Global Board of Trustees and Ron Swaisgood, Ph.D. (right), co-head of the Giant Panda Team for San Diego Zoo Global, revealed a photo of the cub showing his name - Xiao Liwu. The name means “little gift.”  [Pronunciation is sshyaoww (falling then rising tone) lee (falling then rising tone) woo (falling tone)]

     The San Diego Zoo follows the Chinese cultural tradition of naming the giant panda after it is 100 days old. The Zoo gave the public the opportunity to select the cub’s name in a two-part process. The Zoo took open suggestions for names and received more than 7,000 submissions. Those submissions were narrowed down to six names and the public voted online on a name for the cub. Nearly 35,000 votes were cast for the cub’s name. The winning name, Xiao Liwu, was submitted with the explanation  “this cub is such a precious, little gift to our world.”

Photo taken on Nov. 13, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo.

Giant Panda Study: SMITHSONIAN CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE PUBLISHES TWO SIGNIFICANT PANDA STUDIES

Photo by Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Two new research papers by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and partners will help conservation biologists make strides in saving the fewer than 1,600 giant pandas left in the mountain forests of central China. Over the years SCBI has worked to conserve giant pandas by studying every aspect of their lives—their natural history, reproductive physiology and optimal habitat.

Male Reproduction Surprises Scientists

The first paper, set to be published in the Biology of Reproduction's Papers-in-Press April 4, finds that male pandas, like female pandas, experience reproductive seasonality, but the time frame of reproductive viability differs greatly between the two sexes. Researchers have thoroughly studied female panda reproduction and found that a female panda's estrus cycle occurs only once a year for only 24 to 72 hours. Until now, no one has extensively studied the male giant panda's reproductive capacity over time. This study finds that males are reproductively viable for six or more months out of the year, which is significantly longer than females, indicating that the two sexes have evolved very different reproductive strategies.

Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) and Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN)
 have resided at the Smithsonian’s National
Zoological Park since Dec. 6, 2000. They
are the second pair of pandas to live at the Zoo.

"The giant panda is perhaps the most high-profile endangered species on Earth, and it is also one of the most well studied," said Dr. Copper Aitken-Palmer, lead author of the paper and SCBI's head veterinarian. "As such, it is amazing that we did not previously understand the basic physiological changes occurring in the male giant panda during the breeding season and outside of it. With this information, we now have a complete picture of what is occurring physiologically for both males and females during reproduction."

For three years, the paper's authors evaluated the interrelated seasonal changes in male panda testosterone levels, sperm concentration, testes size and reproductive behavior in eight male giant pandas with their colleagues at the Chengdu Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. They found that unlike females, reproductive fitness in the male giant panda changes over time with sperm production already beginning three to five months before females enter estrus. According to Aitken-Palmer, these results show that male pandas have developed the ability to produce sperm over a long period of time to ensure they have sperm when the brief and unpredictable female panda estrus occurs.

Climate Change Claiming Panda Habitat

The second study, published in the International Journal of Ecology in March, used two different global climate models to find that more than 16,000 kilometers2 of giant panda habitat will likely be lost by 2080 as climate change causes giant panda habitat systems to shift to higher elevations and latitudes. That means that less than half of their already significantly decreased habitat is projected to be suitable in about 70 years. The two models take into account remaining habitat, lost habitat, potential new habitat and current protected areas for giant pandas. The study also finds that habitat fragmentation will likely increase, leading to smaller areas that can support fewer pandas farther away from each other, increasing the risks of inbreeding and population collapse.

1972: Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing (Shing-Shing), the
National Zoo’s first pair of giant pandas, arrived from
China in 1972 as a gift to the American people to
commemorate President Nixon’s historic visit to China

"Our research predicts that climate change will substantially decrease the amount of suitable giant panda habitat within the species' current distribution, but also that we may see new areas becoming suitable for giant pandas," said Melissa Songer, lead author of the paper and an SCBI wildlife ecology. "The question remains as to whether giant pandas will have the capacity and opportunity to shift to new areas should they become viable. Our work is an important step in developing climate adaptation strategies and in identifying critical areas that will most likely be suitable and accessible for giant pandas in the face of climate change."

In addition to calling for the development of more protected areas that are aligned with climate predictions, the paper emphasizes the importance of creating corridors to reduce fragmentation. The study also has land-use implications, as agricultural land and land near human settlements are unsuitable for pandas.

Visitors can visit two giant pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Although the two pandas have bred early in the year for the last few years, so far Mei Xiang has not gone into estrus this year. SCBI scientists, veterinarians and animal care staff continue to monitor both pandas' behavior and Mei Xiang's hormones in preparation for breeding season.

Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), the National Zoo’s female giant
panda, gave birth to a cub Sunday, Sept. 16, at 10:46 p.m.
National Zoo staff can hear the cub but have not yet seen it as
Mei Xianghas built a substantial nest in her den. This is the
 secondcub born to Mei Xiang and male panda Tian Tian
 (tee-YEN tee-YEN) as the result of artificial insemination.

In addition to Aitken-Palmer, the authors of the panda reproduction study from SCBI are Caitlin Burrell, Dave Wildt and the late Dr. JoGayle Howard. Partnering authors are Dr. Rong Hou, Zhihe Zhang and Chengdong Wang at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding; Rebecca Spindler at Toronto Zoo; and Mary Ann Ottinger at the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland.

In addition to Songer, the authors of the panda ecology study from SCBI are Melanie Delion and Alex Biggs. The partnering author is Qiongyu Huang in the geography department at the University of Maryland. Friends of the National Zoo helped fund this research.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute plays a key role in the Smithsonian's global efforts to understand and conserve species and train future generations of conservationists. Headquartered at a Smithsonian facility in Front Royal, Va., SCBI facilitates and promotes research programs based at Front Royal, the
 National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and at field research stations and training sites worldwide.