PANDA KEEPER'S BLOG


Here's the latest news from our panda keepers in the CHINA exhibit!

Panda Update

Have you noticed that the pandas are sleeping a lot lately? Well, that is normal for this time of year. Ya Ya and Le Le are real sleepyheads during the summer. They do not like the summertime heat, but luckily for them, their day rooms are a comfy 68 degrees. This explains why you rarely see them outside during the summer.     Last week was Le Le’s birthday! He turned 12-years-old on July 18. He celebrated with a delicious iced fruit cake, and once he finished it, he took...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 12:58 PM | 0 comments

Special Announcement - Hard Rock is Teaming Up with the Zoo!

          When you purchase this limited-edition panda pin at Memphis Hard Rock Cafe, you'll receive more than just a great collector's item.   - Present your Zoo membership card or Memphis Zoo ticket when you buy a panda pin at Memphis Hard Rock Cafe from December 4 to January 31, 2010, and ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 4:51 PM | 0 comments

Birthday season comes to an end

Well, another year has passed and the pandas have turned another year older! On July 18, LeLe celebrated his 11th birthday. He spent most of the day doing his favorite summer activity-sleeping! YaYa turned 9 on August 3 and was much more awake and eager to see what surprises the day held.   The keepers did not disappoint, giving her an enormous ice treat! She was so excited that she spent the whole afternoon gnawing, biting, and tediously licking until there was nothing left-not a...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 3:43 PM

Memphis Zoo's Giant Panda Not Pregnant

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – An ultrasound Tuesday of the Memphis Zoo’s nine-year-old female giant panda Ya Ya confirms that the panda’s pregnancy is not viable. The procedure was led by Zoo veterinarians Drs. Mike Douglass and Dawn Zimmerman, and assisted by ultrasound specialist Dr. George Flinn and the Zoo’s panda keeper staff.  A gestational sac was seen during ultrasounds within the past week.  Panda’s experience a secondary progesterone spike that corresponds to rapid fetus...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 4:06 PM

Panda Estrus Video Day 3

  It's been a few months since the insemination, and our researchers have been carefully monitoring YaYa's horomone levels...       ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 4:02 PM

Panda Estrus Video Day 2 (3 of 3)

  With the successful semen collection, researchers now have a fresh sample to use for the second artificial insemination attempt...       ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 12:53 PM

Panda Estrus Video Day 2 (2 of 3)

  After natural breeding fails to take place for the second day, zookeepers decide to do a fresh collection from LeLe for the insemination.       ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 9:50 AM

Panda Estrus Video Day 2 (1 of 3)

  The second day begins, and zookeepers again cross their fingers for a natural mating.       You can watch the latest video in our series about the procedure by visiting our media player,...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:49 PM

Panda Estrus Video Day 1 (3 of 3)

  The first day ends with an attempt at an artificial insemination.       You can watch the latest video in our series about the procedure by visiting our media player, by clicking anywhere...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 8:46 AM

Panda Estrus Video Day 1 (2 of 3)

  After watching for hours as LeLe and YaYa attempted to breed, Zoo staffers make the decision to proceed with the artificial insemination.       You can watch the latest video in our series...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 2:07 PM

Panda Estrus Video Day 1 (1 of 3)

 The head of our conservation and research department, Andrew Kouba, gives us an explanation of the events that led to our Christmas Day attempt at artificial insemination.     ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 11:21 AM

Zoo gets Panda Estrus for Christmas!

Greetings and Happy New Year!  2008 ended with some Panda excitement here at the zoo!  The keepers started noticing some behavioral and physiological changes in Ya Ya at the beginning of December and our hopes were confirmed when her hormone levels started to rise.  The classic song "It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas" was soon replaced with "It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Estrus"!  Since timing is key to impregnating Giant Pandas, we monitored Ya Ya very closely...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 9:22 AM

Congrats to Zoo Atlanta!

All of us in the China section of the Memphis Zoo want to wish     ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:59 PM

Bear Birthday Bonanza

Summer is always an  exciting season in CHINA because it's that time of year when we get to  celebrate the birthdays of our two adorable Giant Pandas.  Le Le turned  10 years old on July 18th and was pleasantly surprised with a huge birthday  bash the next day.  In preparation for the festivities, his keepers  created a large cardboard present with treats galore hidden inside.  All  of his favorites, including dried pineapple, dried mango,...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:57 PM

Wolong Nature Reserve and YaYa Update

For those of you unfamiliar with the Wolong National Nature Reserve, it is a protected area in the Sichuan Province that houses over 4,000 different species including more than 150 pandas. In 1980, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was created inside the Wolong reserve. This facility allowed researchers to conduct extensive ...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:56 PM | 0 comments

Wolong Relief Fund

As many of you know, the recent earthquake in China had devastating effects on the panda facility in Wolong, China.  The earthquake damaged the buildings in which the pandas were housed, has caused food delivery problems, and left many of the panda's keepers homeless. The Memphis Zoo along with several other zoos in the United States are trying to raise money to aid the Chinese in their recovery efforts. When you visit the Memphis Zoo, across from our dayrooms we have stationed...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:55 PM

Summer temps and the pandas

Summer has arrived with a vengence here in Memphis! The moderate temps of spring that allowed YaYa and LeLe to be outside everyday are gone and now they spend a majority of the time in their climate controlled dayrooms. YaYa once again saw the typical giant panda breeding season come and go and has yet to go in to season. She is definately a mysterious young lady. LeLe meanwhile has continued with his schedule of eating, eating, eating, which has allowed him to get up to 250 pounds....
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:53 PM

Older Panda Blogs

5/12/2008 Andy Kouba, Director of Conservation and Research The Memphis Zoo has many good friends at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base in China and we are naturally very concerned for their safety and those of the animals after a massive 7.5 earthquake struck earlier today. We have sent communications to the Panda Base...
Posted by zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at 1:52 PM

OTHER BLOGS


Want to find out more about our polar bears? Wondering how our pandas YaYa and LeLe are doing? Or how about how our gorillas are starting to get along? You're at the right place.








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Gorilla Blog
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Animal Blog
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Conservation Blog

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