I was going through my panda links to catch up any panda news and came across this heartfelt collection of photos that were posted on the blog.sina.com back in November.
The finalist of the 49th Miss International Beauty Pageant wanted to see the pandas while in Chengdu and you can see their excitement while in the presence of these wonderful bears.
This link is translated into English so I hope it works for everyone. To see the photo collection of the pandas go HERE.
By LINDA LOMBARDI For The Associated Press
Friday, October 2, 2009
You’ll never have to teach a panda to walk on a leash. But if any kind of animal lives in your house, trainers at the zoo have some useful lessons for you.
Modern training methods rely on a simple principle of learning: If an action has a pleasurable consequence, the animal will repeat it. Or as animal behaviorist Emily Weiss puts it, “If it feels good, do it again.”
So it should be easy to mold a pet’s behavior — reward it when it does what we like, and don’t when it doesn’t. But getting the details right can be a challenge, whether with a panda or a pup, and that’s often because we don’t understand what is actually rewarding to the animal.
The simplest type of reward-based training involves food, and it’s incredibly powerful. It works with animals that don’t care about pleasing us, or that we can’t even safely get near. Weiss has trained a Komodo dragon to enter a crate using food.
But it’s critical to realize that food is not all that’s rewarding, and that the alternatives may be unexpected, such as when Weiss found that Aldabra tortoises could be rewarded in training by having their necks stroked.
Continue reading "Panda trainers have some good info for us " »
Well, I think most of us have read the recent statement made by someone who calls themselves a 'naturalist, saying "we should 'pull the plug' on giant pandas and let them die out."
Of course, that is not the responsible thing to do considering mankind has created the majority of problems that pandas face in trying to maintain their populations such as the loss of their habitat.
It is unfortunate, that the news media would consider placing this story as part of their headlines.
Pandas Live On, believes giant pandas hold as much value to the future of this planet as any other living thing and we will continue to fight for their lives forever and a day!
Its good to see so many zoos and news media taking advantage of bigger photos and video sizes. Unfortunately, it was creating havoc for my blog as the main column was too narrow. I was readjusting the sizes in photoshop and then moving then onto my site but that takes time and sometimes it wouldn't always work out. So, I have changed the format of the blog completely, removing one of the columns and now I should have mucho size to insert the photos and video's I want yet, still have the ability to feature other important panda links.
In addition to that, after seeing Tai Shan of the National Zoo, enjoying his 4th birthday celebration, I also realized I missed having him on my banner as I did when I first started blogging a couple of years ago. He's my No. 1 panda, so it is only fitting that he be the featured panda on the banner. I hope you like the new format.
On to panda news, Xinhuanet.com got these great photos of the pandas at the Wuhan Zoo in China, with these huge blocks of ice to help them keep cool.
This is Wei Wei
San Diego Zoo talked on their blog recently about the preparations they are making in case Bai Yun is pregnant.
For instance, the birthing den, for them this area is closed off from the pandas most of the year. So, they go in and check over everything, give it a thorough cleaning and see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced. This year, thanks to generous donations from panda lovers who saw their request for a new camera and microphone for the birthing den on their wishlist, the zoo was able to purchase them! That will enable the vet, keepers and others to monitor Bai Yun and cub better.
Bai Yun is the proud mother of four cubs. Her first was Hua Mei, (see recent post) who just had her seventh cub the other day at the Ya'an Bifengzia Panda Base in China. Then there is Mei Sheng who mated naturally with a female this year at the Bifengzia panda base. And that leaves sweet Su Lin and Zhen Zhen who both still reside at the San Diego Zoo.
In the meantime, keep up with the whole panda family through their live webcam.
Wonderful photography of Bai Yun by Rita Petita of flickr, thank you.
This chart shows the complete family tree of the San Diego pandas. Click on it to enlarge the graphic so you can read the names. You can read all about each of the pandas on the San Diego Family History page.
As I sit here with my daily cup of coffee, in a warm and safe environment, an article comes to my attention about the brave people who monitor one of the mountain ranges that are the habitat of Giant Pandas, a world so unlike any I can imagine.
The brave rangers of the Qingmuchuan Nature Reserve have continued their monitoring of the only corridor for giant pandas between the Qinling and Ninshan mountains, but the Qinling Mountain was also hit hard by the May 12, 2008 earthquake.
World Wildlife Fund, along with other partners are involved in this project and a wonderfully written piece that you must read describes what the team found on a recent patrol on the Qinling Mountain.
I will insert a few portions of the article, to give you an idea, but I would recommend reading the entire piece as it reads like something out of adventurous novel, the only difference being this is real and it is very dangerous. Thank You, Chen Xu, for recording this amazing journey for us to experience with you. Mountain-in-recovery---Qingmuchuans-first-monitoring-patrol-since-the-May-12th-earthquake . January 19, 2009, Text/Photo by Chen Xu
"The recommencement of monitoring is a monumental event for the reserve. It means, in part, that the reserve has overcome some of the difficulties that go along with post-earthquake conservation work. It also shows that they’ve gained an opportunity to start the field surveys necessary to monitor the changes affecting habitats and the surrounding communities.
There are 5 routes for monitoring and patrolling on the Qingmuchuan Reserve."
"Monitoring notes and position recorded, we stepped into the forest and covered a leaf-covered and weedy path. Here we saw more signs of the quake: a deep groove was stamped in the earth where a massive boulder had fallen. Piles of smashed stones sharply contrasted to the luxuriant green that infused the area. I tried to find more evidence of the earthquake, but Mo Chenqing said mud and weeds had covered a lot of damage after the rainy season and that the vegetation hid most of the danger."
"The first major threat to Qingmuchuan Nature Reserve was damaged bamboo, the giant pandas’ main source of food.
"The reserve’ management bureau says 4 strong aftershocks hit Qingmuchuan after May 12th, happening on May 25, May 27, August 1 and September 12 Mud-rock flows and rock falls soon began to seriously damage the reserve’s bamboo groves, with large areas of the woody perennial evergreen dying. Giant pandas were then left with little to eat."
"The ridge stands at 1,733 meters above sea level. Though the altitude didn’t climb much higher, the dense vegetation made it difficult to move forward. Since about 1,500 meters we had to make our way directly over, on and through the foliage: we fought against vines underfoot and branches and thorns overhead. When reaching 1,600 meters we walked though bamboo and arbor, making our way up to the ridge along the animal path. Large trees prevented us from getting a view of the ridge, with the sky appearing in cracks between massive branches. We planned to spend 5 hours reaching our destination, but we only able to cover half that distance.
The path to the foot of the mountain was even more difficult to walk on. Broken rocks caused chaos around the ridge and we could not even find a trail made by animals. On top of that, it was getting dark. We took out torches, but our lights could only cover one or two meters ahead in such dense. We were staggering, trying to hold on to branches or vines. Still, we tried to ignore the difficultly of our journey and move faster."
"Waking up in the tent on the morning of the 12th, I was cold. I could not imagine how the reserve staff could survive through the winter in this weather. Outside I saw some lace-like clouds covering the mountains along the opposite riverbank. Wei Shuqiang told me I had been walking down from the very mountains I was looking at last night. I looked for a while but could not see any trace of a path--maybe we just flew down on the clouds."
You have got to read this in its entirety and then think about getting involved in some way to help them to continue on this vital project that will help the Giant Pandas of the Qingling Mountains.
I wanted to be sure that everyone who helped in donating money for the new bamboo cooler at the San Diego Zoo, got this message. Thanks Chari,
Hi, you all! I'm writing this to you to let you know that SDZ has raised the $112,000+ that they needed for the bamboo cooler before New Years Day! Just read a comment from one of the moderators on the SDZ panda blog page that the boo cooler will be at the panda house and installed in the next 4-6 weeks. We were all excited that this was accomplished in a short amount of time since the old cooler had its days numbered. Fortunately, the weather in San Diego, Cal., is cool to moderate, and the bamboo is in good shape. So, that's the latest about the boo cooler. All 4 pandas at SDZ are happy, too!
Bye!
Chari Mercier :)
St. Pete, FL
