Pandas Live on

China needs to step up and provide policy for leased pandas

Prelimanary findings are reporting that Quan Quan may have died from gas poisoning.

This report comes from Xinhuanet.com

"Initial investigations showed that the panda died after inhaling gas disinfectant from a nearby former air-raid shelter. The gas was composed of chlorine, chlorine hydride and carbon monoxide, said Liu Jungang, deputy Party secretary of Jinan Zoo. Workers were disinfecting the air-raid shelter when the gas leaked to the zoo's panda house through an air-pipe. Police are investigating the case. The panda was found poisoned at around 7 p.m. and died in a local hospital after three hours of treatment failed."

The China Global Times presents a good article on the whole business of leasing giant pandas. I recommend that you read it in its entirety. "Quan Quan's passing revived concern that the attention surrounding the species is too much. Critics say the leasing of pandas, which disturbs their normal habits, has become some zoos' way of luring tourists."

In 1963 the  United States Fish and Wildlife Service stepped in and stopped all shipments of giant pandas to the U.S. when they began to see problems with how pandas were being be cared for.  Before this there were no guidelines that zoos or anyone else who wanted to showcase them, had to follow when they received their pandas.

Fortunately, due to the diligence of some concerned people they got the FWS involved and before any pandas could arrive into the U.S. a permit had to be requested, stringent guidelines and rules were set up which also included the facility that would house them.

This is from their Q & A page on their website, you can read the complete Giant Panda Policy and Q&A page:

Why have a policy just for pandas? 
Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES).

Any import requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a permit under these wildlife measures. The giant panda is unique. It is highly endangered,with probably fewer than 1,000 animals in the wild, extremely popular with the public worldwide, and capable of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Giant Panda Policy Questions & Answers Generating substantial profit when displayed. Because of this, giant panda imports have had a controversial history.

Conservationists fear humans will “love  the panda to death.”

It is time that China took the initiative themselves and set up stringent policy to protect leased pandas, NOW before any further leasing of giant pandas continues. How many more panda deaths need to occur before someone wakes up from this nightmare that is happening over and over again!

Four female giant pandas begin 'field training', the future is now.

Meet the four female giant pandas who have begun 'Field Training' within the Wolong Reserve.

  "CARDS",  Was born in the autumn of 2000 Baoxing Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve, Sichuan, May 8, 2001 rescue in Baoxing field, in September 2003 transferred to China Giant Panda Research Center breeding. 2006。 In 2006, through 34 hours of the production process, it gave birth to the baby giant panda reproduction in the history of the heaviest (218 g), also set a record of the longest giant panda birth.

   "HASTILY",  Was born in 2002, grassland nature reserve in Wenchuan County, the earthquake has been seriously frightened, but the maternal instinct to keep a full stomach it was a small life, then first litter will be happy to go a pair of twins, each weighing 206.7 grams and 192.6 grams.  The time they are born just minutes apart, hit a giant panda breeding history of the production record of the shortest interval between twins.

  "BLACK BAMBOO"  Was born in the fall of 1999, by the end of 2005 weapons were found in the flat, early the next year was transferred to the Research Center in Ya'an Bifengxia base.  As in the wild injured and lumbar spine fractures, "black bamboo" can not walk to the site of the hind legs and wear a very serious, significant muscle atrophy, also suffering from malnutrition, anemia and liver dysfunction and other diseases, resulting in their foraging, activity is extremely difficult , just over 60 kg body weight.  Research Center staff adhere to its hind leg muscle massage and fed drugs, it is gradually restored ability to walk. 2007, it normal estrus and mating, but the cubs died abortion. 2009, it finally produced a class along.

  "BRITISH PING"   In October 2008 in the Canton River Conservation Area OF WENZHOU Chuan Tang family was rescued, the age of 8 years old, for the province after the earthquake, the first relief from the wild giant pandas.  Just when it was put back severely malnourished and had a black part of the Mao Doucheng gray eyes have cataracts, is now fully recovered, yet under the litter in captivity.

One of the goals to keeping giant pandas from becoming extinct is after a sustainable captive population is achieved through the breeding bases then a process would begin to release pandas back into the wild through a series of phases.  This phase places them into a large area of the Wolong Reserve where they will be closely monitored through surveillance cameras and minimal or preferably no human contact. 

The four pregnant females were selected after a thorough evaluation of all of their breeding female pandas.  Special criteria were set up for their selection .  Hopefully each female will bear a cub while living in the reserve and teach it to live on its own without the aid of humans. 

Thanks to Chet of Chet's Chatter who found this article that explains the process, it came off of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government website and this is where the descriptions for each panda was also.  Thank You to Chet and also to YingYing816 of YouTube for the photos of Cards, Hastily, Black Bamboo and British Ping. 

"July 20 morning 7:30,4 Field Training only be accepted from the Wolong China Giant Panda pregnant Giant Panda Research Center in Ya'an base in Auckland went to Wolong.  17:45 PM arrived in the Wolong China Giant Panda Research Center farm site.  This marks the Wolong Giant Pandas Field Training and the reintroduction of the second phase of the project officially entered the implementation phase of work.

This year, the female giant panda breeding program a total of 26, there were four finalists were "cards", "hasty", "black bamboo", and "Ying-Ping", they are from the mountain and Minshan Qionglai Mountains of the giant panda. The four giant pandas are the ambulance on the field, compared with other pandas, they have some experience of field survival, in which black bamboo, cards and carelessly  litter size in captive conditions, have good nursery experience and behavior.  The field of training programs, researchers in minimizing the impact of human factors on giant panda case, observation, monitoring and recording of a dam on litter size in nests of choice, farrowing, nursery and other behavior and growth and development of pups ." Sichuan Provincial People's Government

For another take on how this program will work, I am including a link from another news source that may explain it a little better only because the translation problems with the article from China. Pandas get lessons in survial skills

Another story was released just about the same time as this one and it ties in with release of the four females into the Wolong Reserve.

It has been discussed for years that giant pandas are facing extinction because of the tremendous reduction of suitable habitat that pandas need for their survival, such as the availability of food sources (bamboo) and the ability to mate.  But upon further observations of where pandas were living, they have discovered that many of them are living in small groups, isolated from others due obstructions such as developments, roadways, etc., throughout their habitat.

The WWF World Wildlife Fund has been actively involved with China to develop 'corridors' that would connect these segmented areas. They even put together a short video describing this as you can see below.

Here is an article, thanks to Lee of Facebook who alerted me to it, that discusses the genetic research that reveals why it is critical to connect these habitats.   You can read a abstract of the research here.

For pandas, there is a mountain high enough, there is a valley low enough
Zhu et al., BMC Genetics

"Fuwen Wei, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, worked with a team of researchers to study giant pandas in the Xiaoxiangling and Daxiangling mountains. He said, "These results suggest that gene flow will be enhanced if the connectivity between the currently fragmented bamboo forests is increased. This may be of importance to conservation efforts as gene flow is one of the most important factors for maintaining genetic diversity within a species and counteracting the negative effects of habitat fragmentation".

The giant panda is one of the most endangered mammals in the world. This is the first study to demonstrate that there is a relationship between landscape features and gene flow within their population. Wei and his colleagues recovered 192 fecal samples, which were found to come from 53 unique genotypes.

These 'genetic signatures' demonstrated signs of fragmentation within the panda population. The researchers said, "It is vital to reconnect the fragmented habitats and increase the connectivity of bamboo resources within a habitat to restore population viability of the giant panda in these regions".

More information: Landscape features influence gene flow as measured by cost-distance and genetic analyses: a case study for giant pandas in the Daxiangling and Xiaoxiangling mountains, Lifeng Zhu, Xiangjiang Zhan, Tao Meng, Shanning Zhang and Fuwen Wei, BMC Genetics (in press), http://www.biomedc … om/bmcgenet/"

San Diego describes the work day of a panda keeper, UPDATED

The San Diego Zoo panda staff has put together a couple of wonderful blog post that gives us a behind-scenes-sneak peak at what a keepers day is like.

Thanks so much to the zoo for getting this information out there, especially seeing that it is National Keepers Week.

Be sure to go to their panda blog site to read the article, check them out with these links:

Panda Keepers Day

Panda Keepers Day, Part Two

Panda Keepers Day, Part Three

Don't forget to check out their video collection. This one is narrated by Senior Keeper, Karen Barnes. Playtime for pandas

Be sure to THANK THE KEEPERS!

 
 

The AAZK American Association of Zoo Keepers, has designated the week of July 18 - 24th of July as 'National Zoo Keeper Week'.

"As the need to protect and preserve our wildlife and vanishing habitats has increased, our role as educators and wildlife ambassadors has become essential. During the third week of July each year, celebrate National Zoo Keeper Week; both you and your animals deserve the recognition."  AAZK

The zoo keepers are the 'unsung heroes' of zoo life.  So often, their hard work and dedication goes on unnoticed by the public as they quietly go about their business, cleaning out the enclosures, hauling in huge amounts of bamboo, preparing fresh fruit, taking weights and measurements of what the pandas eat and excrete and coming up with new ways to keep them enriched as well as keeping records of this.  They must be totally exhausted by the end of the day.  Keep in mind also that most keepers are assigned other animals in the zoo as well that they take care of in a day. 

I think keepers are the best way to bridge the important information about zoo animals to the public and I wish more zoos would allow their keepers more freedom to interact with the public through articles, meet-ups, updates, and video blogs etc., on a regular basis.

THANK YOU! so much, to all of the keepers around the world, even though this is a national holiday, I would like to extend it to all keepers also.  Maybe we can get a International Keepers Day or Week going. 

Be sure to give a big shout out to any of the keepers you see this week while at the zoo and you can even email or call the zoo to show your appreciation for their efforts.  

If you are interested in a career as a keeper here is the link for you to get more info.  Zoo Keeping as a Career

 

 

Would you like to be a giant panda keeper?

Oh, wouldn't this be a dream job!   Alot of work is involved but the rewards would be priceless and they mention you may get a chance to work with Mei Lan (photo to the left) who arrived at Chengdu from Zoo Atlanta.

You have a chance to participate in this for one month.  There are no details as to how to apply yet but as soon as they are released I will post them here.  Great article and it continues after the break.

Thank you Xi Shan of flickr for sending this our way!

China launches global search for panda keepers
By Marianne Barriaux (AFP)

CHENGDU, China — Yang Gangkun calls out to two pandas lying on their backs chewing bamboo. They push themselves up and slowly amble over for their morning workout in a breeding centre in southwest China.

The 24-year-old is a panda keeper at the Chengdu Panda Base in Sichuan province -- which will soon offer contestants from around the world a chance to help look after the endangered animals for a month.

As Yang dangles an apple fixed to a rod over the wall of their enclosure, Jing Jing and Xiao Yatou stand up on their hind legs and reach awkwardly for the treat with their big paws -- an exercise aimed at bulking them up.

"The best is when you're on duty and you walk on the partition between enclosures," says Yang, after the eight pandas he cares for with 14 other keepers have retired to their indoor air-conditioned pens.

"When it sees you, the panda runs over. When you run, it follows and runs too. It's like it's studying the way you are, it's great."

Officials at the base are planning to give animal lovers from around the world the opportunity to sample Yang's job by launching a global search for six panda keepers as part of an awareness campaign on the plight of the animals.

Organisers say that from August, they will be looking for "bright, articulate and engaging individuals from China and around the world, who care deeply about conservation issues" to spend one month in Chengdu.

The winners will "learn how unique these animals truly are, assist researchers and scientists there, and help raise awareness by blogging to millions of people around the world about their experience," organisers note.

Details emerge for releasing pandas back into the wild for breeding

Thanks to panda pal, hugwildlife of YouTube for sending this article our way. 

This is a story that will go on for years to come and we can follow along as it unfolds.  Best of luck to the many scientist, researchers and many others from around the world, who will be working together to ensure its success. 

Captive-bred pandas to live, breed in the wild

English.news.cn 2010-06-24 17:18:21

Panda researchers in southwest China's Sichuan Province are planning to send some captive-bred pandas into the wild, hoping the cuddly bears will eventually learn to survive and even breed without human intervention.

"First we'll release one or two pregnant pandas into the groves in the outer ring of Wolong Nature Reserve before the end of this year," said Zhang Hemin, head of the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong.

The outer ring, rich in vegetation, although fenced is almost the same as the wilderness, except that Zhang and his colleagues will still be able to access and keep an eye on the pandas.

"The pandas would give birth in this semi-wild environment and teach their cubs how to forage for food and survive in the wild," he said.

When the training ends in about two years, they will be released into the wild mountain forests outside the enclosed zone.

Zhang, a renowned panda expert who led the way in breeding giant pandas through artificial insemination, said they had shortlisted six pregnant pandas at their panda research base in Ya'an for the wild training.

"We'll eventually choose just one or two of them -- health, temperament and survival skills would be among the main criteria," he said.

In the first year of the wild training, zoologists would keep an eye on the pandas and, if necessary, continue to provide them with food, said Zhang.

"But to simulate a wild environment as much as possible, zoo workers and vets who enter the zone will disguise themselves as pandas by donning a black-and-white fur coat and crawling on the ground," he said.

The pandas would hopefully take them as their peers and not think they are relying on humans for food and protection.

Before the end of next year, the pandas are expected to rely solely on themselves for food, he said. "By the end of 2012, the healthy panda cubs will be released into the wild mountains."

More photos of panda pair that will be going to Macau

The CRBGPB (Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding) has provided more photos of the cute panda pair that will be moving to a new facility in the city of Macau, China. You can read more about Macua in the previous post Macau, China readies for gift of giant panda pair.

Remember the Chengdu base is where Mei Lan who was born at Zoo Atlanta is now living.

Their brand new habitat is scheduled to be completed September of this year (2010).  It will be located in the Seac Pai Van Park on Macao's Coloane Island and covers an area of 3,000 square meters.  A dedicated website for the pandas will be set up also.  Webcam?   We will have to wait and see.

Shu Xiang  (male) was born on August 4, 2008 and currently weighs 58 kilograms (127.8 lbs.)
Qi Miao  (female) was born on July 26, 2008 and currently weighs 48 kilograms (105.8 lbs.)

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day, New photos of Tai Shan and Mei Lan

We have some absolutely gorgeous photos of Mei Lan in Chengdu, thanks to langchingchao.  She looks like she's posing for a magazine cover.  Tai is strutting his stuff and enjoying all of the new foods he is now receiving such as the panda bread, millet, bamboo shoots, carrots as well bamboo. 

No word on the cams at Wolong. Will keep you posted on that.

You can see the rest of his photos on his Tai Shan diary site.

 

You can see the rest of Mei Lan's photos at her Mei Lan blog site.

Happy 1st Birthday, Lin Ping, Updated with Video Hi Lights

My goodness, I can still remember seeing tiny Lin Ping laying in her mothers arms.

Lin was only 8 oz (200 g.) when she was born and how she has grown into a beautiful panda.  This is the first cub for Lin Hui and partner Chuang Chuang as well as the first panda cub born in Thailand.

I put together a little video of many of the great photos that the Chiang Mai Zoo has so graciously provided over the last year. 

Congratulations to the Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand. They will be having celebrations at the zoo from May 27-30, so be sure to check their website if you can make it and don't forget to take plenty of photos and videos for us to see!

Be sure to check out Tong's website where we can also watch the birthday festivities live!  Their website host the live cam 24 hours a day!  Way to go Tong!   Follow this link: True World TV;LinPing Live

Looks like they have set up her surprises for her already.

Here are three videos from the Chiang Mai zoo showing Lin Pings birthday celebrations. They are in the Tai language but it is wonderful to see how excited they are over Lin's first birthday. Kudos to all of the keepers who have spent so time training and caring for Lin, you must be so proud.

Panda handlers play an important role in understanding the gentle giants

This is a great article that gives us an idea how much dedication the panda handlers in China have for their pandas.  This interview involves a handler who caring for the 10 younger pandas that are in Shanghai at the Shanghai Zoo, as part of the 2010 World EXPO there. 

(Yang Jie, a panda handler from the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center, feeds cubs at a zoo in Shanghai on Wednesday.) [China Daily]

Panda-ring to their every whim

China Daily, May 21, 2010

Many people will think that Yang Jie has the dream job.

"Isn't handling giant pandas one of the best jobs in the world?" asked Xu Yang, an 8-year-old primary school student, when he watched 10 panda cubs at the Shanghai Zoo on a Saturday morning in May.

But for 28-year-old Yang, a panda handler, the job is not all about cuddling and playing with what is perhaps the most adored animal in the country.

"Food, moods, pee and poo of the pandas - all these trivial things in visitors' eyes are actually important matters I need to consider," Yang said.

Yang has been taking care of pandas of all ages for nine years. Since he graduated from college with a degree in animal science, he joined the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center in Wolong, Sichuan province.

"In Wolong, many volunteers from all over the world call me 'master'," Yang said.

Zoo director Pan Xiuyun said Yang and his colleagues are also tutors to some researchers with doctorates.

"Panda handlers offer much experience outside of textbooks," Pan said.

Yang works in different cities whenever pandas need him on their tours outside the center. But the latest trip to Shanghai, as part of Expo 2010 Shanghai, is a little bit different for Yang and his three colleagues.
"The panda cubs are young and sensitive to changes. Also, 10 pandas make a large group. It requires more effort and patience to make sure they are safe and sound," Yang said.

On the night when the pandas arrived at the Shanghai Zoo, everyone expecting the little black-and-white bears was ecstatic. Cameras focused on the largest panda delegate ever in the city.

But Yang was not that happy."Two of the panda cubs were agitated when the plane landed," he said."I was worried they would not handle the sudden change of environment."Now four months have passed and the "Expo pandas" are doing quite well."The top concern now is to make sure they are not growing too fast," Yang said. "That's why we need to modify their meal portions according to their health."

While pandas have their first daily snack of freshly picked bamboo leaves and shoots at 8 am, Yang and his colleagues have their cut out for them - cleaning the 100 square meter panda house.

Yang later prepares breakfast for the pandas. The set menu includes milk of a special formula, carrots, steamed corn cakes and apples. Each panda gets about three carrots, two bamboo shoots, 250 corn cakes and 800 g of milk. The food is weighed carefully and a panda gets two of such meals every day.

Yang opens one of the 10 logbooks on the table and notes down the breakfast portion briefly."We have a logbook for each panda and take notes on their physical and mental condition every 30 minutes," he said. Details recorded include when the bears relieve themselves. "We are not supposed to miss any possible indicator of disease or any delicate change of mood," Yang said.

The next big step for giant pandas...returning to the wild

(

(A panda chews on a bamboo shoot in an enclosure at the Shanghai zoo where they are unveiled to the public for the first time ahead of the 100-day countdown to the Shanghai World Expo January 20, 2010.) [Agencies]

I have always been a big proponent of continuing the push to increase and connect fragmented habitat for the pandas and reintroducing them to the wilderness to live as opposed to sending them to more zoos around the world.

There has been talk that China was going to set up a special area where they could help giant pandas to make the transition from captivity to wilderness.  We now have some new information on this, thanks to Xi Shan of flickr for sending this our way. 

As you read the article you will realize this is going to take time and not all captive pandas will be able to make the move into the wilderness.   But its an important step and we need to stay involved in order to help in whatever way we can to make it successful.   

(A zoo keeper feeds a giant panda at the Yunnan Wildlife Park in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 6, 2010.) [Agencies]

China to train giant pandas to survive in wild

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-20 06:32

CHENGDU - China will start building a center at the end of May to train giant pandas born in captivity to live in the wild, experts said Wednesday.The center will accommodate the first batch of three to five giant pandas after the center's construction is completed in three to five years, he said.

In the experimental zone, the giant pandas will be trained to reduce their dependency on humans. But they will still live in cages.

After five to 10 years training in the experimental zone, the giant pandas that perform well will be introduced into the "half-natural" zone.

(A giant panda plays at the Yunnan Wildlife Park in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 6, 2010. Giant pandas in the zoo started to enjoy their time outdoor as the temperature in Kunming had reached up to 25 degrees.) [Xinhua]

In the following five to 10 years, the pandas there will live in tree holes or caves and forage for food. But they will still receive frequent checkups and participate in artificial breeding.

Then, only one or two of the giant pandas will have the chance to spend another five to 10 years in a nearly "natural" zone with little human contact. Then they will be released into the nearby giant panda natural reserve, Zhang said.

Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species. Some 1,590 panda live in the wild and over 300 pandas are in captivity in China, Zhang said.

(A giant panda plays at the Yunnan Wildlife Park in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 6, 2010.) [Xinhua]

China started a giant panda training project in 2003 to teach the animals to live in the wild. But the project suffered a major setback when Xiang Xiang, a five-year-old male panda, was found dead in a remote part of the Wolong Nature Reserve in February 2007.

Xiang Xiang was released into the wild in April 2006 after nearly three years of training.

(A giant panda eats with leisure at its new habitat, inside the Giant Panda Ecological Happyland, at Xiuning County, east China's Anhui Province, April 28, 2010.) [Xinhua] 

China and visiting the panda bases, a world of its own

Pandas at the Chengdu Panda Base in Chengdu

So many of us have gotten to know giant pandas through a cubs birth at a zoo and then so sorry to see them leave to go to China to help with the breeding efforts there. 

If you're like me, you are probably thinking I just have to go to China to see how my favorite panda is doing.  Also, I definitely plan to volunteer at the panda bases.  

One thing I have heard mentioned by most everyone who has made the trip is, not only does it rain alot but be ready to do alot of walking and climbing.  Looking over these photos, you can see, it looks like the walking and climbing would be an adventure in itself!

Thanks to BeccasinChina for the photos of her recent trip to China that included the Chengdu Panda Base and the surrounding area of Sichuan Province.  (Check out the 3 part series on her blog) and A.Wessel for the photos taken at the Bifengxia base that is located near the town of Ya'an.  You can see what a unique setting the pandas live in. 

 

Panda villas at Bifengxia each set apart along the mountainside

This leads to another panda villa, whoa!

Looking across from one villa to another

Amazing scenery and what a trek!

Guess we had better make sure we are in shape and have our best trekking shoes on for the trip!

Bundles of Joy - 2009 Wolong panda cubs

This will make your day. 

Check out these photos showing off the 16 panda cubs born in 2009 at the Ya'an Bi feng xia Panda Base.   Congratulations, to the base for all of the hard work they put toward a successful breeding program. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Good news concerning wild pandas

Thanks to Xi Shan of flickr who sent this article our way, we have something to smile about today!

Giant Pandas May Expand Their Habitats

CHENGDU, May 8, 2010 (Bernama) -- Zoologists are investigating the possibility the endangered giant panda has expanded its habitat in southwest China following the reports of sighting of the bears in Sichuan Province, reports Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

Residents at a remote village have reported traces of the bears in a mountainous area where they were previously unknown.  "Giant pandas appear to have been active in Sichuan's Dahua Township for more than two months. The area may be a new habitat for them," Luo Jian, an official with Shenguozhuang Provincial Giant Panda Reserve in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, said.

A resident from Dahua Village, Dahua Township, gave samples of animal excrement he discovered to the Shenguozhuang reserve for testing on April 30.   Tests revealed it came from a healthy giant panda, and Sichuan University will perform further tests on the sample.

Giant pandas have not lived in Dahua Township for at least two decades, villagers said.  Some residents claimed to have seen giant pandas near the village in March and April.  If one panda has settled in the area, it was very likely others have, too, Luo said.

"We do not know for sure if the bears the villagers saw were the same panda. And it is difficult to know if it had always been living in Dahua's mountains or has come from somewhere else," he said.

"After further investigation including catching one, it may be possible to conclude the pandas have expanded their habitat and population," Luo said. 

If confirmed, Dahua will be the second giant panda habitat found in Liangshan's Yuexi County. The county's Shenguozhuang District, which is separated from Dahua by mountains, is estimated to have five or six pandas.  About 1,600 pandas are believed to live in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan Province.

Another 290 are in zoos as of 2009.

-- BERNAMA

Su Lin will be moving to China soon

Her name means 'a little bit of something cute'.  That is the perfect way to describe her too.  Often sitting very quiet like with such endearing eyes, while her mommy Bai Yun sat close by. 

We haven't heard an exact date on when Su Lin will be leaving but the San Diego zoo has begun crate training exercises getting her used to being inside the traveling crate for an extended period of time along with the movement of the crate being lifted by a forklift. 

Su was born on August 2, 2005, through natural mating between Bai Yun and Gao Gao.  She currently weighs about 182 lbs.  Su will join her sister Hua Mei and brother Mei Sheng at the Bifengxia panda base in China. 

Hua Mei moved to China in February of 2004 and has successfully bred 7 cubs that includes three sets of twins!  Mei Sheng has been at the base since November of 2007 and had his first chance to sire a cub this past year but we have yet to hear if he was successful.

Web cams are coming to the Bifengxia base, we don't know to what extent the cams will be, but perhaps on occasion we will get a chance to check in on Su, Hua and Mei. Thanks to JDBartross of flickr for these great photos of Su. Take care, sweet Su.