Pandas Live on

Mei Lan makes a big splash after her bath!

Alot of new photos of Mei Lan.  You look great Lani girl with your fluffy cheeks and all!  Here is the translation from the blog.sina.com.cn

Giant Panda "Mei Lan" bathing, sun, fell in love with leisure life in Chengdu 

Chengdu two days past a row of bright sunny haze swept away.  The weather was warm, "Meilan" are no longer tense, so the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base of the nanny riding on this rare good weather for the "Meilan" a shower, wash away the dust of her one from the United States She also has not been washed back to a bath. The original "Meilan" and are not afraid of water, water will still cozy in her body.  "Meilan" clearly a lot of white, on entering the stadium, the shaking to the body drops, and she in the yard leisure walking, tired, lying on the grass playing a little look into the children.  It seems that just returned soon, "Meilan" also began to like people to enjoy, like Chengdu, Chengdu, casual and comfortable life.  (We note that today's picture inside, "Meilan" to eat when the posture changes. 

Thanks to the staff at the Chengdu Panda Base for continuing to post new photos of Mei Lan.  There are 60+ photos this time, sorry I lost count, so to see the complete set click on this link...blog.sina.com.cn.

 

 

 

More photos of Tai Shan from Bifengxia Panda Base

Happy Days, new photos of Tai Shan and he seems to be taking everything in around him and realizing how delicious that wowotau is. 

These photos were published on Xinuanet.com and thanks to Xinhua News Agency for sending a team with reporter Chen Xieshe to see Tai and bringing back these great photos.

"Giant panda Tai Shan in Sichuan Wolong China Giant Panda Protection Research Center, Ya Bifengxia Base (February 23 photo). In the United States, Washington National Zoo giant panda Tai Shan was born February 5 to return to China, in Sichuan Wolong China Giant Panda Protection Research Center Ya'an Bifengxia base began a month-long quarantine of life. In the breeder's meticulous care, Taishan on the local environment, climate, food and so well suited to life itself contentedly. Breeders Dong said Taishan eat sleep can be playing, is expected to end around March 5 quarantine life and tourists to meet"

 

What is wowotau, you ask?  Well it is specially prepared cake that is hand made at the base and I suppose its ingredients can vary but this is what I have been told it is comprised of.  Soybean, ground bamboo, egg, bread flour, corn, vitamins and minerals can be added.  I have seen other photos of giant pandas eating it at Fuzhou Base in Fuzhou, China, but I understand it is used throughout China for the pandas. 

Thanks to chet of flickr for the photo of a staff member preparing the cakes to be steamed at the Bifengxia Base. This photo was taken back in 2008 during one of their visits there.

 

New Photos of Mei Lan in Chengdu and updates on Tai and Mei

Thanks to rbm, who commented on Mei Lan's update in the previous post and daniel.techie who also alerted me to these wonderful new photos.  They have posted 130 photos of Mei Lan on this website!  So, I will post just a number of them here and you will have to go to the website sina.blog.cn to see all 130 of them.

The National Zoo posted an update yesterday on Tai Shan and another today "We just learned from a colleague at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda that Tai Shan is responding to Chinese language commands pretty well. He understands his keeper's requests to stand up and sit down. His appetite is also good."

Thank You to the Chengdu Panda Base of Giant Panda Breeding for posting all of these photos and the update from China Daily on both Tai Shan and Mei Lan follow the photos.  It is so good to see the sweet face of Mei Lan enjoying her new home. 

 

US-born pandas doing well in new home in China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-23 17:07

CHENGDU: Two American-born pandas, Tai Shan and Mei Lan, are adapting well to life in their new homes in southwest China's Sichuan Province 18 days after returning to China.

Wild panda comes to village to feast; Updated

Check out this piece that came from a blog site, GoChengdoo who picked it up from the Chengdu Commercial Daily,  about a wild panda that comes down out from the mountains on occasion to feed in one of the small villages in Boaxing County. I have inserted a map from Wikipedia and titled it so you can see where in China this is.

Thanks to panda pal, Xi Shan of flickr for sending this our way and thanks also to rbm, who commented about another article about this same story that appeared on ChinaPandaorg.cn. It does go into more detail about the family, so be sure to check it out also.

Wild panda enters villagers' home in Sichuan County

A farming family in western Sichuan's Baoxing county got an early new year's surprise when a wild giant panda entered their house and gobbled up nearly 2 kilograms of pork bones that had been placed near the pigpen. After its feast, the panda gestured to the farmer that it was still hungry, and the happy-to-please host brought out some more fresh pork ribs for his guest. The panda took the bones straight from the hands of the farmer and sat down in the house to continue eating, after which the panda had a brief stroll and then a nap until the next morning. "

It was around 6 p.m., and I had been making dinner. I stepped out of the room and saw a panda just in front of the doorway. I told the whole family, we should walk with it to the forest over there. About a half-hour later, my wife saw the panda sitting next to the pigpen chewing on the bones," explained Tao Defen.

Li Tingzhong said, "These years, pandas frequently come by our house, usually three or four times a year. Every time they eat the bones. They're very gentle and not at all afraid of people, as if they're pets we've raised. After they're done eating they'll sleep next to the pigpen or against the wall and don't wake up again until daylight the next day."

According to a village official, this panda has been spotted many times by the villagers and last year ate the corn of some of the farmers, but this was the first time the animal has entered a home.

The panda is about one meter long, weighs about 200 pounds and is around 8 years old, estimates the forestry administration. Chengdu Commercial Daily.

New photos of Tai Shan at Bifengxia

In the four and half years I have followed Tai Shan, it was his sprirt of adventure that always kept me tuned in to see what he would be up to next.  Climbing trees, rolling down the hill, enjoying his enrichments, especially those fruities! 

Thanks to Tai's keeper at the Bifengxia Panda Base, who took these new photos of Tai so we could visit with him once again.  Even though he going through a quarantine period, which is important to protect all of the other pandas at the base, it looks like he has quite a large area for himself. 

This quarantine period is good for Tai.  It is quiet and peaceful and his keeper is there to help him become familiar with his new surroundings and food.  He even got a bit of a snowfall, which we know he absolutely loves.

Enjoy the photos, Tai looks great and from here on we will have a chance to see him grow into a big, handsome male that I am sure will be the eye of quite a few females. 

Thank You, Wu Dai Fu, Tai's keeper, for providing these wonderful photos of Tai and also thanks to maplez's of flickr who posted them on flickr along with a rough translation of the article that accompanied the photos on the Chinese version of the Giant Wolong Panda.org.cn site.   Here is the English version of the same website China Wolong Panda.org.cn

"It has been almost two weeks since Tai Shan come home to Bifengxia. Under the tender loving care of his keeper, Tai Shan is getting used to the weather, his food and his surroundings without any problems. He is still under quarantine and is not allowed any visitors. His keeper reports that Tai Shan already has his daily routines. Since he is so smart, he seems to understand the old Chinese sayings "The best time of the day is in the morning". He fills his morning with all his favorite activities. He has his breakfast at 8am, goes for a power walk in his yard then comes in for his boo. Lunch time is at 11am and he enjoys it whole heartily. He also likes to eat wowotou, carrots and apples on his private "porch". "

This next photo is my favorite.  Have fun big guy!

   

Fu Long and panda pal tearing it up in the snow!

You gotta check out these great photos from the Bifengxia Panda base that show two and half year old Fu Long who just moved from the Zoo Vienna.

 They captured some great photos of him playing with his new partner in crime, Ju Wu.  There are too many photos to post and they wrote great commentary with the photos.  Click HERE to see the rest, they will make your day!

China, getting to know you

As I work to regain my momentum in staying involved with giant pandas after favorites Mei Lan and Tai Shan moved to China, I realize now, my interest has shifted to knowing more about the research and breeding programs in China.

So often the information is hard to come by or the translation that is provided by the 'google translator' makes for a difficult understanding. 

When Tai Shan left for China, a part of me went with him.  Maybe the same holds true for you whether it be Mei Lan or Tai Shan.  Both pandas I know will thrive in China and as they do, I hope to be able to keep up with their progress.  But what about the many other giant pandas that live at the research bases?  We are all very familiar with the pandas that live in zoos around the world but really what do we know about hundreds that live life at the bases?

A piece of good news comes from Panda International, through their newsletter.  A live webcam is going to be sponsored by an anonymous donor for Tai Shan at the Bifengxia Panda base.  The details are still being worked out as we speak.   I am also anxious to hear more about the progress of the new Wolong Panda Base. 

Due to the horrific earthquake that destroyed much of the famed Wolong Base and its being abandoned due to its dangerous location near the fault line, it is currently being rebuilt in a different location but still within the Wolong Reserve.  In the meantime, the Wolong research and breeding still continues but has been moved to the Bifengxia Base in Ya'an until the new base is built. 

In the meantime, the panda base in Chengdu, China where Mei Lan is, continues their work, they were not impacted as badly by the earthquake.  They are communicating through the media the great work they are doing to help giant pandas as you will see with the posted video below. 

This video below is special because we hear directly from one of the specialist at the center.  Thanks to ABC.com news for going over to cover this story. 

I know many are anxously awaiting the day Mei Lan and Tai Shan come out of quarantine to begin their new lives in their homeland.  Let's hope there are many avenues for us to be able to keep up with Mei and Tai because afterall, this interest will overflow to the other pandas that live along side them. 

Thanks to panda Pal, Xi Shan for sending this video our way. : - )

Happy Chinese New Year!

China to loan two giant pandas to Japan

Good news for the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. This comes after they lost their male panda Ling Ling who died on April 30, 2008.  He was 22 years old.  He belonged to the nation unlike many others that are loaned out.

He was given to Ueno Zoo in 1992 in exchange for a panda born in Japan to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.  You can read more about Ling Ling here.

Tokyo to receive 2 pandas from China next year

The Associated Press
Friday, February 12, 2010; 7:57 AM

TOKYO -- Japanese panda fans will be able to see the endangered animals in Tokyo next year for the first time since 2008, after the city reached an agreement to pay nearly $1 million a year to borrow a pair from China, officials said Friday.

Tokyo's Ueno Zoo has been without a giant panda for the first time since 1972, when a pair arrived to mark the signing of a peace treaty between and China. Ling Ling, a panda who came to Tokyo in 1992, died in April 2008 at the age of 22, which in human terms is equivalent to about 70.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara told reporters Friday that two pandas are expected to arrive in Tokyo early next year and would cost $950,000 a year.

"It's quite a costly deal," Ishihara said, adding that Tokyo officials bargained to get $50,000 off the original $1 million price tag. The payments will help rebuild a panda sanctuary in China's Sichuan province and fund joint breeding projects between Japan and China, he said.

The sanctuary was nearly destroyed by a devastating earthquake in Sichuan in May 2008. Nearly 70,000 people were killed.

Zoos often pay about $1 million a year to borrow pairs of pandas from China. Any cubs produced by the pandas are the property of China.

"Pandas are endangered and everyone loves them," Ishihara said. "We've received strong requests from people in Tokyo and around Japan who want to see them in Tokyo again."

When Ling Ling died two years ago, people sent condolence messages from around the country and his portrait was displayed inside his cage, along with bouquets and offerings of his favorite bamboo shoots.

Chinese President Hu Jintao offered to loan a pair of pandas to Japan during a visit a month later.

There are about 1,600 pandas in the wild, mostly in Sichuan

Checking in on Tai Shan and Mei Lan

We have the latest video of Mei Lan and Tai Shan and they are both doing very well.  Thanks to the reporters who go back to video record them and talk to the keepers, so we can keep up with them. Thanks so much to poyee_lam0321 of flickr who uploaded these and also gives us an idea of what is being said. It is in Chinese so they muted the sound. Both were shown on CCTV4  

After 7days of adaptation period, Mei lan is getting better and start eat and drink. At the first 3 days, maybe jet lag or other reasons, she climb up and down in the cage and roaring to the people. Reporter visit her again in Chengdu Panda Base and found she is getting stable and start to eat and drink as normal.

Mei Lan's quarantine field is a one eaves building and very quiet. She has two rooms and she can walk outside to her own garden to keep heathly. It is a very good environment for her to settle down.

New keeper Ms Duan has ten years experience for the giant panda keeper. She is now looking after Mei Lan only.

Ms Duan through TV, Nets and many ways to understand Mei Lan favour, living style etc. to help Mei Lan settle down as soon as possible. 'Mei Lan drink and ate banana yesterday, she looks so happy.' Ms Duan said.

Reporter, 'Mei Lan now is hands by a experience keeper, Mei Lan will has a happy life in Chengdu.'

Here is the latest update on Mei Lan that was posted on Zoo Atlanta's website today:

Zoo Atlanta, Mei Lan Update

Thursday, February 11

Mei Lan spent more time resting today. She was asleep when Heather arrived this morning and continued to sleep after Heather’s arrival. Mei Lan is drinking regularly and eating bamboo. She is not, yet, eating as much bamboo as she did at Zoo Atlanta. As we have reported many times about the giant pandas, they can be very selective about their bamboo. The species of bamboo that are plentiful and accessible in the area of the Chengdu Research Base are different from the species plentiful and accessible in Atlanta. It took Yang Yang and Lun Lun about a month to adjust to the bamboo here and start eating bamboo well. So, we expect it’s going to take Mei Lan at least that long too. Most of the bamboo fed to the pandas at the Research Base is brought in on large trucks from the mountains surrounding Chengdu. They have a lot of pandas to feed, and so they truck in large quantities of bamboo. There are also several species of bamboo that grow on the grounds of the Research Base. Ms. Duan has also been cutting these to offer to Mei Lan. So, far Ms. Duan has offered Mei Lan 5-6 different species. Heather said Mei Lan liked one of these better than the others, but so far she doesn’t have a clear favorite.

We have decided to extend Heather’s stay in Chengdu. We hope that some additional days with Heather will help Mei Lan continue to adjust to her new home. Rebecca Snyder, PhD Curator of Mammals

And here is one of Tai Shan a few days ago, checking everything out. This news is about Tai Shan is he is adjusting very well, emotion stable and heathly. Very love home country bamboos and fruits.

Giant pandas and politics

This was posted on China Daily.com under the heading of Web Comments. 

Liberate Panda from Politics

By Yuan Boyang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-02-10 17:38

Do pandas even have the right to determine their own fate?

Over a hundred kinds of nationally protected animals, including pandas and golden monkeys, must propagate with help from humans to prevent the risk of their extinction. However, as the national treasure of China, pandas have one more burden – they are image ambassadors of China.

In historical records, Panda diplomacy dates back more than a thousand years ago. In AD685, the female emperor Wu Zetian of China’s Tang dynasty sent two pandas to Japan as a gift. This is the origin of Panda diplomacy.

Before 1949, more than 50 pandas had been sent abroad as gifts. When Europeans first saw pandas in 1869, they fell in love with the marvelous creatures. Driven by affection and curiosity, more and more European people came to China to explore the home of pandas.

The apex event of Panda diplomacy happened in 1972 when U.S. President Nixon visited China. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gave two pandas to the American people as ‘Red China’s gift to the U.S’. In the following decade, no matter where pandas appeared in the Western world, millions of people would turn out for a glimpse.

But is the panda comfortable with this grand destiny? Is it really so light-hearted an animal like we think, always playing and fooling around? Does it feel homesick when it is thousands of miles away from its native land? Why does a panda have to be involved in human political affairs?

China has an ancient political tradition called Heqin, namely alliance by marriage. From Han’s Wang Zhaojun to Tang’s Princess Wencheng, women were exchanged as tokens for peace when marriages were conducted for political trade. In the Middle Ages of Europe, such events were very common. Now the panda gifts are just like that old policy, which sacrifices the panda’s happiness for political purposes.

Records show that only a few couples of pandas abroad can get along well along with each other, and even fewer can breed. Most pandas sent abroad in early time died from digestive system disease instead of natural causes, according to Wei Longping, the director of Wolong Panda Breeding Institution.

World communities pay more attention to wild animal protection, and people protest against slaughtering and eating wild animals in any form. However, if the protection is beneficial for humans but unfavorable for the animal, is our motive still pure and valid? Before stopping disturbance to other creatures’ lives, human cannot allege equality on earth.

Wild giant panda rescued in China after getting stuck on cliff

Here's a good news story that came across my Google Alert for giant pandas, the video originated on the Chinese Central Television, CCTV.

CBS Newspath Published: February 9, 2010 Updated: February 9, 2010

A hungry, lost wild giant panda prompted a long rescue operation as it trapped itself on a mountain cliff near a village in southwest China, China’s Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday (February 9).

CCTV said local villagers spent hours trying to help the 100-kilogram panda to descend from the 50-meter-high cliff in E’bian County, Sichuan province, after it was spotted in the early morning of Friday (February 5).

Villagers believed the panda had been stuck on the cliff for hours but was scared to get too close to the equally scared animal, they eventually called wildlife experts to the rescue.

“Panda is China’s national treasure. Nobody dared to touch it,“ one worker explained.

After nearly seven hours, the workers and villagers managed to lure the panda off the cliff. According to CCTV, the rescuers’ tempting bait of a banana proved too hard for the panda to resist.

Experts believed the wild panda had descended from the mountains in search of food.

Scientists believe there are around 1,590 giant pandas living in the wild in China, most in the mountains of southwest.

The endangered species are considered a national icon in China and are often used to bolster foreign relations, coining the term ‘panda diplomacy’.

A hungry wild giant panda gets by with a little help from friendly villagers after getting stuck on a mountain cliff.

Tai Shan doing very well at the Bifengxia Base

We have a new video by the AP posted on yahoo yesterday, February 7, 2010, showing Tai Shan and his new keeper Wu Dai Fu. They look like they are getting along very well.

Beautiful Zoo Atlanta panda family, Updated!

Just got in and see this welcome good news about Mei Lan posted on the Zoo Atlanta website.
"Special Mei Lan Update Monday, February 8 We received good news from Heather Roberts today that Mei Lan is starting to settle into her new home. The first couple of days, Mei Lan did not eat much and she was easily startled by sounds around her. Sunday and Monday she started to eat more and she drank well. Heather reported that Mei Lan is also calmer and spending more time resting. These are very good signs and we expect that Mei Lan will continue to become more and more comfortable in her new surroundings.

I am sure that Mei Lan’s fans are worried about her and that it’s difficult to read that she is not entirely at ease in her new home. Of course, we would all have liked to see Mei Lan adjust immediately to her new home as though nothing had changed. But that would not be a normal reaction and we did not expect her to adjust immediately.

Traveling to China is a big change. It’s a long journey, there is a 12 hour time change, the food is different, the language is different, the sights and smells are different. It takes a person at least a few days to adjust to that. So, we should expect it to take Mei Lan some time to adjust as well. Most people prefer to travel with a friend, rather than alone, because all those changes can be stressful and it’s comforting to have a friend along. We sent Heather with Mei Lan to be her friend and to help her with the changes. We also sent one of our veterinarians, Dr. Sam Rivera, to Chengdu to make sure Mei Lan remains healthy. She is healthy and she will adjust, but it’s going to take a little time. Rebecca Snyder, PhD Curator of Mammals"

Thank You so much, Dr. Snyder for keeping us up to date on our dear Lani.

We will probably be hearing something from Zoo Atlanta about Mei Lan and how well she is doing.  

We know Lani comes from great genes and she will rebound like the crazy girl panda we have come to love and enjoy.  

If the zoo does post something I will set above this post. 

In the meantime, we got some beautiful photos of Mei Lan's family along with a video of Xi Lan from LCNessie of flickr.   Big Daddy, Yang Yang is first, then his lovely mate, Lun Lun and finally Lani's brother, Xi Lan. 

Enjoy.

 

Updates on how Tai Shan and Mei Lan are doing since arriving in China

Just wanted to provide some news on how Tai Shan and Mei Lan are doing since arriving in China. 

It is true that Mei is a little unsettled and as of yesterday was not eating but she was drinking water.   There is a video of her, Mei's first day, and I have to warn you its hard to watch.  I believe the woman in the video is Mei's new keeper.  Between her and Heather, Lani's keeper from Atlanta, they will do everything they can to help her get settled in.  Lani's vet along with the base director are all involved in helping Mei Lan to move through this transition as smoothly as possible.

Thanks to panda pal LCNessie of flickr who was able to meet up with the Zoo Atlanta keepers about Lani and here is what they found out.

"Hi all. Just back from a day at Zoo Atlanta. I just watched the yahoo video of Lani. It's so very hard to see her upset. The keepers told me she is not yet settled but the base is very concerned about helping her settle in soon. Her chinese keeper and Heather are the only ones allowed in her area - they are really working to reduce her stress. She is resting and drinking water. Hopefully she will start to relax soon then eat. Heather is very sensitive to Lani's needs too and really knows her. She is there for another week. From the sounds of the video, Lani's chinese keeper sounds very compassionate so I'm sure they will pull out all the stops to help her settle in quickly. It is such a big change for any of the bears. Lani's reaction also may also be a function of being female - as a potential mother, her instincts to be sensitive to a different environment are necessary to protect her cubs. Hopefully we will hear more positive news as each day goes by. Let's send her positive vibes! She's such a darling!"

Nessie will try to update us later today on Mei Lan's progress.   

Tai Shan looks like he adjusting pretty well.  He is eating like his dad Tian Tian, 'more and more'.  Here are photos of Nicole's last moments with Tai as his keeper.  Here is a video of Tai's first day 

The staff at the Bifengxia Base decided that since Tai seemed to be adjusting pretty well as he was walking around his outdoor area checking things out and has a healthy appetite, that it would be best if Nicole completely handed over Tai's care to his new keeper, Wu Dai Fu. 

Well, as you can see in the photos it was not an easy task to walk away from a darling that you worked with over the last 4 1/2 years. 

Thanks Nicole for everything you have done for Tai over the years, our prayers of support are with you. 

I understand Nicole will remain in China for this week and try to get around to see Hua Mei, Mei Sheng, and other parts of the base. 

Thanks to everyone who is involved with the care of Tai Shan and Mei Lan.

I did want to leave a new link for all of you that comes from China and has videos and photos. Chinapanda.org.cn