Pandas Live on

Great news with twins being born!

Wonderful news out of China. Congratulations to the base and momma Xi Mei!

  Year's first panda twins born in Sichuan

Panda Xi Mei gave birth to the twin cubs on Wednesday morning in China's Sichuan Province. [Chinanews.com.cn]

Panda Xi Mei gave birth to the cubs at 4:47 a.m., the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong said.

The cubs are also the first pandas born in China this year, the center said. The center's staff have yet to identify the gender of one of the cubs, as its mother has yet to release it from her embrace. The second cub is a female and weighs 154.2 grams, the center said. Xi Mei became pregnant in March after mating with Lu Lu, a panda selected for breeding by the center.

The center began intensive monitoring after Xi Mei began to exhibit prenatal behavior in mid-June. Born in 2000, Xi Mei previously gave birth to twin pandas in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In 2009, she gave birth to a single panda.

Panda Xi Mei gave birth to twin cubs at 4:47 a.m. Wednesday in Sichuan Province, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong. [Chinanews.com] 

These are the first twin panda cubs born in 2012 in the world. The center's staff have yet to identify the gender of one of the cubs, as its mother has yet to release it from her embrace. The second cub is a female and weighs 154.2 grams. [Chinanews.com] 

Shin Shin's little cub dies

My condolences go out to the hard working staff at Ueno Zoo in Japan,  I know they worked so very hard to help Shin's newborn make it through this critical time.

Tokyo’s Newborn Baby Panda Dies

By Yoree Koh

The first giant panda born at Japan’s oldest zoo in nearly a quarter-century died of pneumonia Wednesday just six days after
its celebrated arrival.

Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo said that the unnamed male cub spent the night with its
mother, Shin Shin, and that its cries could be heard at 6:45 a.m. on
Wednesday.

Less than an hour later, staff found the cub face up on Shin Shin’s chest in
a state of cardiac arrest. The cub was put in an incubator and given a heart
massage, but was pronounced dead at 8:30 a.m. Ueno Zoo director Toshimitsu Doi
told reporters the cub caught pneumonia after the mother’s milk got into its
lungs.

The birth on July 5 of the zoo’s first baby panda for 24 years
and its progress during its first few days of life attracted broad news coverage
in Japan.

National broadcaster NHK ran breaking news headlines over its normal
programming to announce the birth, and death, of the cub, while newspapers gave
daily updates on the cub’s milk intake and published front-page photos of Shin
Shin cradling the pinkish newborn — weighing a mere 133 grams at birth.

Seven-year-old Shin Shin, on loan from China, appeared to be attentive toward
her baby on the first day, nursing it frequently. But she seemed to tire of her
maternal responsibilities by the next night, leaving the cub and wandering off
to eat bamboo shoots.

Zoo staff alternated between moving the cub from an incubator to Shin Shin’s
side while gauging the mother’s interest. On Monday evening they returned the
cub to an incubator due to concerns that it was not getting enough food, before
placing it once more by Shin Shin’s side on Tuesday.

Around 60-70% of baby giant pandas die within their first week, zoo officials
said at a press conference. A panda breeding expert visiting from China, who was
on site when the baby was discovered, said that the same thing frequently
happens in China, zoo officials said.

The cub’s death quickly became the most talked about trending topic on
Twitter’s Japan site on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s truly unfortunate. There’s always a sense of sadness when an animal
passes away,” said Mr. Doi, the head of Ueno Zoo, choking away tears at the
press conference. “But this was truly, a very unfortunate passing.”

The baby panda — like the other pandas on loan to Japan from China — would
have eventually been sent to China.

“We lament the loss of the cub and believe the Japanese people who have been
looking forward to the panda’s cub will also lament its loss,” said China
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, at a press conference Wednesday.

Source: WSJ/JapanRealTime

Shin Shin resumes care of her cub, its a boy!

Ueno Zoo’s Shin Shin resumes caring for panda cub after time in incubator

By Adam Westlake  /   July 10, 2012

The baby Panda that was born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo last Thursday has resumed breast-feeding from mother Shin Shin after a brief period in an incubator. Zoo officials say Shin Shin didn’t sleep after giving birth, and on Friday night she put the cub down to eat some bamboo sprouts a short distance away. The staff took the panda cub to keep it warm for a little while, where it was then discovered to be a male.

Veterinarians believe Shin Shin was suffering from fatigue, and that’s why she was somewhat unresponsive to the cub’s crying. The baby Panda was returned shortly after the confirmation of its gender, but Shin Shin still didn’t pick it up. So on Saturday it was moved to an incubator. The two were reunited on Monday, and happily Shin Shin went to the baby’s aid when it cried, picking it up and breast-feeding once more, proving it wouldn’t be a problem to care for.

Weighing around 130 grams, this was the first panda to be born at Ueno Zoo in 24 years, and the first in the zoo’s history to be naturally conceived, as opposed to artificial insemination. Both Shin Shin and the baby have been monitored around the clock, and they are in good health. The zoo hopes have the panda cub in public view in around six months, and debating about accepting name suggestions from the public. As Shin Shin and her mate are on loan from China, it will have to be a name the country approves of, therefore excluding the suggestions put forth by Tokyo’s Governor Shintaro Ishihara

Happy 7th Birthday, Tai Shan UPDATED

I watched the new Tai Shan cam last night.  Incredible to see Tai again.  It is very clear with a large screen so you really do get a great look at him because they do zoom in close at times.

There were some connection problems last night with it buffering in and out.  Wouldn't you know it, just as Tai had walked up to his birthday cake and was getting ready to reach up to a higher level on the 5-tiered frozen treat, the cam went out....I couldn't believe it!  So, I patiently waited as it had been coming back up after a few minutes, but this time no, it continued to buffer and by the time it came back up the cake was gone!  

I can only imagine that he knocked it over, as he has always done with his ice cakes in previous birthday celebrations.  But the staff had come in and removed any evidence that there was ever a BD cake for him and that was a little disappointing.  They had put so much work into making the cake.

But a huge Thank You to everyone who has made this live cam possible, CGPPRC (China Giant Panda Protection Research Center), Pandas International and Explore,.  

Thank You to the staff and volunteers at the Bifengxia Panda Base who put together the nice celebration for Tai to celebrate his 7th Birthday.  You can see official photos of Tai's celebration that were taken by the staff at the base at this link: Tai's BD photos

We can continue to watch Tai everyday now.  You will have to align your time zone with the China time zone so you will know when to tune in.  They are showing replays of Tai using recorded videos during the times the cam is not up and running.  

Also don't forget to tell your friends about the cam site because a special fund is being set up to help replant bamboo. Here is the notice from the website.

Bamboo Challenge Grant: For the month of July, for every like or share to Tai Shan’s live stream, explore.org will donate $1 to help replant bamboo in his native China up to $500,000.

Tai Shan Live WebCam

Fellow panda fan, wzb3 of You Tube did record and process the video so we could at least see Tai walk up to his cake. Thanks Bill. 

LIVE webcam of Tai Shan begins today!

Thanks to the collaboration between the CGPPRC (China Giant Panda Protection Research Center), Pandas International and Explore, a live webcam that will feature Tai Shan  has now become a reality.  

Here is the information that is available concerning the cam right now and hopefully something more will be published in the days to come. 

If you click on the cams during off hours you will see video recorded earlier.  Here is an example:

 

There is a box below the cam itself with this notice, and it also includes more information about Tai and pandas, just click on the tabs on the right.

Stay tuned for the launch of Tai Shan’s new live stream and birthday party, Sunday 7/8 starting at 8pm EST / 5 Pacific. Cake will be served at 5pm EST!

 

Here is the link:        Tai Live Webcam

 

For those of you who may not be familiar with Tai Shan here is a short bio also on the cams website:

You are watching Tai Shan, perhaps the most well-known giant panda in the world. This 7-year-old became a global internet and media sensation just days after he was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He was later brought back to China to do his part in growing the Panda population. His name, meaning "Peaceful Mountain," was chosen through an Internet poll, before which time he was nicknamed "Butter Stick." Have a question about panda bears? Submit them to the comments and we will do our best to answer with the help of Pandas International.

Peace, Love & Happiness = Pandas!

Thanks once again to the CRBGPB (Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding), they have put together a great marketing campaign to bring awareness to giant pandas in a couple of different ways.

Check out the funny videos where they walk around town dressed in panda suits imitating the playful behavior of giant pandas.  I had to include another one of the cubby vidoes. The little cub looks like he is showing off on the obstacle course.  

 

 

 

 

 This is description that went along with the newest videos:

Chengdu in China has been the hometown of the giant panda -- one of the world's most endangered species - for more than 8 million years, and the Chengdu Panda Base (a not-for-profit organisation) is a world-renowned breeding and research center for the giant panda. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012, the Panda Base now has the largest controlled breeding population in the world -- 108 giant pandas.

Congratulations to Ueno Zoo on new cub being born

A baby giant panda was born at a Tokyo zoo on Thursday, in a rare success for Japan's captive breeding programme, a zoo official said.

The as-yet unnamed infant is Ueno Zoo's first baby panda for 24  years, and its first ever from a natural sexual congress, she told AFP.

"The baby was born around noon today, but we have no further  details as our keepers are taking care of the pandas," she said.

The zoo had suspended public viewing of the "possibly pregnant"  giant panda Shin Shin on Saturday after keepers noticed she had became nervous  about noise and light.

Shin Shin and her mate Ri Ri were confirmed to have mated twice  in late March, and the female panda's condition, including her hormone level and  a loss of appetite for about two weeks, had suggested she was pregnant.

The couple was leased from China last year to the zoo operated by  the Tokyo Metropolitan government at an annual cost of about a million  dollars.

In Japan, a total of 16 giant pandas have been born, the Yomiuri  Shimbun reported. Source: The Times

I could not get the video that the zoo has posted online of the birth to work yet, but here is a look at Shin Shin from a video that was made when they were discussing her possible pregnancy. Thanks to NTDTV. 

Chengdu Panda Cubs sliding, bouncing and being incredibly cute

Thanks so much to a new YouTube site featuring adorable cubs at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding to give us a welcome laugh during a difficult summer for many right now.  

The occasion was the Chengdu Panda Awareness Week at end of May, beginning of June.  I know you will love these cutie's and their antics.  You can see more of these videos at the Chengdu Paw YouTube site. Enjoy! 

New Photos of first 'On the Trail of Giant Pandas' Earthwatch expedition

I was doing some web searching concerning my upcoming trip to China and found some photos that one of the participants who took place in the same expedition I will be joining in October just posted online.

Team Photo

A candidate reintroduction cub relaxes in a tree

Mountain Fungus Inn, Wolong (where the group stays)

The Wolong Panda base has been made useable while the new facility is built

Here is the write up that John posted with his photos at the Zenfolio site.  There are more photos to see just click on this link:  John Hanna Zenfolio.

"The Wolong Panda base was badly damaged during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Construction of a new facility, funded by the Hong Kong government, is underway just a few miles down the road. The existing location, somewhat patched together, is being used for the Panda reintroduction program.

Only Pandas that have not been habituated to humans are intended to be reintroduced to the wild. In practical terms, this means that expectant (but habituated) mothers will give birth and rear their cubs for two years in increasingly large and semi-wild enclosures. During those first two years, it is hoped the cub will learn the necessary survival skills from the mother, and human interaction with the cub is strictly controlled, before being released into the wild ... meaning Panda suits must be worn!

While looking completely ridiculous, it was fun going about our daily monitoring and maintenance activities in full Panda regalia!

We stayed in a nearby hotel, the wonderfully named Mountain Fungus Inn, and received royal treatment during our visit, including a banquet (with barbequed goat!) held in our honour before we left Wolong."

Thanks John for sharing your adventure, I can't wait to partake in mine.