Pandas Live on

New photos of Ya Ya and Le Le

A couple of panda pals went to visit Ya Ya and Le Le who live at the Memphis Zoo in the great state of Tennessee.    The Memphis Zoo has a beautifully designed China Exhibit complete with Chinese dragons, a lotus pond and much more.  Saulesmeit of flickr who is also a big fan of Red Pandas got some nice shots of both pandas.  Thanks Saules for sharing your photos with us and for those of you who have never seen a Red Panda before, be sure to go to their photostream by following the link above where you will see some wonderful photos of them also.  

The first three are of Le Le the male and the following three are of dear Ya Ya the female.

   

 

   

 

 

UPDATE: Sad news on rescued wild panda

    The first wild female panda that was discovered by a villager in Gengda Town and taken to the Hetaoping Base for help has died.  The base undertook comprehensive treatment and the panda seemed to respond to this in a positive way.  Unfortunately, her internal organs were in very bad condition and stopped working.  She passed away 13 days after her rescue. 

The experts of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) will test its samples and carry out further pathological analysis and study. 

Rest in peace dear one, hopefully, we will learn from your struggles, enabling us to save others who are experiencing the same difficulties. 

  

Cool, A Giant Panda Sweepstakes

 

 Here is the info that was just released from the National Zoo in Washington D.C.  I've already entered and staying at the Hyatt, now thats a treat!  

"You can enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to D.C. and a special visit with the National Zoo's pandas.  Lee Kum Kee, a leading maker of authentic Chinese sauces, recently donated $50,000 in support of the Zoo's giant panda conservation projects in China and just launched the "National Zoo Panda Sweepstakes."   Visit the Lee Kum Kee website  for your chance to win a grand-prize trip for four to Washington, D.C., and a special visit with our giant pandas, with accommodations provided by the Hyatt Regency Bethesda."   

Scientist use satellites to observe pandas

Interesting article I came across on Xinhuanet.com

Scientists to peep on panda sex with satellite

www.chinaview.cn 2005-09-26 20:29:13

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese and American scientists are using the global positioning system (GPS) to monitor the sex behavior of giant pandas in deep mountains.

    The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Zoology and the US Zoological Society of San Diego are joining hands in a three-year giant panda observation program in the Foping Natural Reserve of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which costs 660,000US dollars.

    Wei Fuwen, a senior researcher at the CAS institute, on Monday said, "Giant pandas are unaccessible for long periods of time and traditional observation cannot unravel the ecological mystery of the animals."

    Hypogenesis and incretionary disorder make female giant pandas hard to get pregnant. Scientific statistics indicate that 78 percent of female giant pandas are unable to get pregnant while 90percent of males are sterile.

    "Tracking them with advanced technologies and observing their sex activities might help us find ways to avoid their extinction,"Wei acknowledged.

    "GPS and other computerized geographical systems could help scientists track movement of the surveyed in different seasons andthe animals' behavioral change in different environments."

    There are only about 1,000 giant pandas at large throughout theworld, all spread throughout southwest and northwest China.

    Foping Natural Reserve is one of the key observation bases for wild animals and plants. Since 2003, scientists observed several instances of mating and birth among giant pandas. Enditem

Beautiful Fall color at the National Zoo

Sometimes we forget that zoo's offer a unique experience for us in the fall.  Many trees are planted throughout the zoo's landscape to provide shade in the summer, but in the fall these same trees offer a whole new experience.  Here are some examples of this as shown by photographer RoxandaBear of flickr at the National Zoo Panda exhibit.  You can view these beautiful photos in their full size by clicking on the link to their photostream.

Above Mei Xiang and Tian Tian her partner, are seen playing among the bright yellow leaves.  The two photos following are taken looking over the 'River Shan', nicknamed after Tai Shan, the 3 years old male panda that lives in this area.

Here we see Tian Tian looking down upon his mate, Mei Xiang.  They were playing together in the Gingo tree a few moments before but she came down and you can see her walking towards the keepers gate.

Tai Shan's walks among colorful shrubs of his area.

A little bit of cuteness.

Here are a couple of short videos of 2 up and coming panda stars!   Thanks to puddytat_1949  of flickr for putting these together. The first one shows little Zhen Zhen of the San Diego Zoo working on some bamboo. This is pretty new for her, but she seems to be getting the hang of it.

This next one shows dear momma, Lun Lun of Zoo Atlanta with her new male cub, yet to be named.  You can participate in voting for his name here.  Both of these videos were recorded from the zoos live webcams. 

2nd giant panda rescued from the wild

Once again, thanks to the efforts of local villagers, another panda has been found and rescued after feeling the affects of the earthquake that is driving them into human areas searching for food. 

This panda was identified as a 10 year old male, suffering from severe dehydration.  He was taken to Ya'an Bifengxian Base, a part of the Wolong Reserve, where veterinarians treated it for malnutrition and gave him a transfusion. 

He is said to be doing much better now and beginning to eat bamboo.  He will remain under close observation.  It is the second wild giant panda found after the earthquake since October 26th, 2008 when another one a female was rescued at Wolong.  Because of the great earthquake, the giant pandas habitat has sustained severe damage. With the approaching of snow in the winter, the main bamboo at the high altitude is covered gradually by ice.  The wild giant pandas in this area are facing food problems.  Many pandas will go to lower areas, and some even will go to the living area of human beings.  If some are lucky enough to be found and get treatment, their survival rate is great.