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
