Off they've gone, to the pandas native homeland goes Su Lin and Zhen Zhen from the San Diego Zoo. The zoo has posted that both pandas left for China last night, eventually making their way to their new home at the Bifengxia Panda Base.
I am sorry I never got a chance to meet either panda in person while they were at the SDZ. Both sweet lovable pandas. We know they will make great moms for future cubbies. Thank You to pandajoy7 of flickr.com for the photos of Su and Zhen. Here is the news, Megan did a wonderful job writing about them.
In the words of the great American naturalist Henry David Thoreau,
“Nothing makes the Earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a
distance.” Recent news from China regarding the birth of Hua Mei’s
eighth cub made me realize that the connection we feel for our San Diego
Zoo-born pandas only grows stronger over time. And the pride we’ve all
felt upon hearing this news reminds us that although we hate to see them
go, we know that Su Lin and Zhen Zhen will make their greatest
contributions to giant panda conservation when they become part of the
greater breeding population in China.
Su Lin and Zhen Zhen left the San Diego Zoo Friday evening, September
24, under the watchful eye of the California Highway Patrol! After being
escorted by Zoo staff and the CHP, the duo left by plane to Shanghai in
the early hours this morning, accompanied by Gaylene Thomas, the animal
care supervisor who oversees giant pandas, and Tracy Clippinger, a
senior veterinarian whom you’ll remember from many panda exams. The
pandas were acclimated to their new traveling crates, as well as being
next to each other, over the last several months. The crates were
designed especially for these two pandas, giving them privacy and
ventilation at the same time. During their voyage, the crates were
placed adjacent to one another to provide them with familiar smells and
sounds, while Gaylene made sure they had their favorite treats and even
honey water to keep them comfortable. Su Lin and Zhen Zhen will be
welcomed in Shanghai by a team of experienced panda keepers and escorted
to their new home at Wolong Nature Reserve Giant Panda Bi Feng Xia Base
in Sichuan, China.
I think it’s safe to say that we were all lucky to have gotten to
know both of these charming bears, and both of them contributed valuable
information to our understanding of giant panda biology. Su Lin is the
first giant panda to have contributed comprehensive data for our panda
hearing study. Her patient and playful focus over the last year and a
half has taught us a lot about the sensitive hearing that pandas have at
certain frequencies. This important starting point will help guide our
research into the impacts of human disturbance on giant pandas in the
wild.
Su Lin’s behavioral development, from birth to weaning, was also well
documented as part of our detailed behavioral studies of this critical
period in a panda’s life. And of course, over the last year, Su Lin has
displayed clear signs of the onset of reproductive maturity, both
behaviorally and physiologically, and we have no doubt that she will go
on to be an important contributor to the panda population at Bi Feng
Xia, just like her big sister, Hua Mei.
Zhen Zhen also contributed important data to our studies of panda
hearing, mother-cub behavior, and infant development. Her ability to
participate in the hearing study illustrated well just how smart giant
pandas are and how quickly even a young bear can learn a challenging
cognitive task. And the data we collected on Zhen Zhen’s behavior
enhanced our understanding of the normal scope of cub behavior, even in
light of distinct differences in temperament.
Some folks have wondered if Bai Yun will miss Su Lin and Zhen Zhen. I
think our best answer to the question is to look to what we know of
panda biology: panda mothers in the wild wean their offspring when the
cubs are about 18 months old. At this same point, the panda mother and
cub will part and begin their separate lives. For Bai Yun, I’m sure
she’ll notice the eventual absence of the scent of Su Lin and Zhen, but
she said her panda “goodbye’s” long ago. Unlike Bai Yun, we have all
just said our goodbyes, and we will miss these bears!
The news from China regarding the birth of Hua Mei’s eighth cub well
illustrates the potential for Su Lin and Zhen Zhen to be important
conservation ambassadors for giant pandas. Hua Mei’s prolific
reproductive output is good news for giant pandas; although Bai Yun’s
genes are well represented in the captive population, Shi Shi’s genes
are not. Hua Mei is the only known offspring of Shi Shi, so each of her
cubs contributes to the genetic diversity that is so important to the
conservation value of Wolong’s giant pandas. And now Su Lin and Zhen
Zhen have embarked on the same journey, and again, along with Bai Yun’s
genetic makeup, they bring Gao Gao with them as well. Like Shi Shi
before him, Gao Gao is also unrepresented in China’s captive population
of giant pandas.
In the coming years, we will continue to observe the milestones in Su
Lin and Zhen Zhen’s lives, albeit at a great distance. And of course,
we will share what we learn with their great “panda family”: the Panda
Team, San Diego Zoo visitors, and our large family of worldwide panda
fans.
Megan Owen is a conservation program specialist for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Read her previous post, Pandas on Stand-by.
