Pandas - Georgia / Atlanta Zoo

[eagle63_1999]

The cub looks uncomfortable in his mother's mouth but really he's strong. Wait til he starts climbing the structures. You think he would get hurt but they just keep on going. The staff would intervene if the cub was in danger. But really he's just fine.

[Elaine L]

My God, the little fellow sure endured a lot of abuse!  I hope he is o.k. after all that dragging around; he is so young, and I don't know if he has to strength to endure such manhandling.  When I was in Kenya this summer on Safari, I saw a mother cheetan pick up her cub by the leg, instead of the scruff of his neck, when she was in a hurry and was agitated, and we were not able to see if he was o.k. after this.  I think it is possible, too, for the parents to harm their young, but I would expect that in the case of the pandas, the staff would interfere before anything awful happened.

[maggieblue]

OMG!!  Lun has taken BB out into the viewing room already!!!!  She dragged him all over the room, up on the hammock stand - I almost had a heart attack as he was hanging from her mouth up there!!

Then she nursed him by the window and now he's taking his first steps on the ground..woohoo..no slippery floor!!!

Wow!  I am so glad that I wasn't watching the webcam that day I think that I would have had a heart attack.  Here is a video on YouTube for anyone else who missed all the action. No napping going on this time.   Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzu6dserIbo

[The Peregrine Chick]

Baby bear is napping ... always catch him napping.  Other than peregrine chicks, pandas are the cutest nappers 

[carly]

OMG!!  Lun has taken BB out into the viewing room already!!!!  She dragged him all over the room, up on the hammock stand - I almost had a heart attack as he was hanging from her mouth up there!!

Then she nursed him by the window and now he's taking his first steps on the ground..woohoo..no slippery floor!!!

[eagle63_1999]

Yeppers he got named Xi Lan. And yeah Carly he couldn't have cared less sleepying through it all lol

[carly]

BB got his name today..it is Xi Lan.  He is 100 days old and slept through the entire naming ceremony 

[carly]

BB was standing up and nursing this morning , so precious    Mama had her little paws around him to support him, it was just too adorable!

[maggieblue]

My timing is definitely off. All I've seen him do for the last few days is sleep - or else he's getting his bath. He doesn't seem to be wriggling around so much now in his sleep. Or maybe I'm just not watching at the right time.

At this age it is difficult to catch them doing much more than sleeping.  That is why the Hancock forum that Carly found is such a find.  There are people who are monitoring and capturing images and video for us all to enjoy.  Here is the link to the most recent page.

http://discuss.hancockwildlifechannel.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=267&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&sid=21971e784c3835045ed58518b5fdb267&start=12250

This is the sixth American born cub that I have watched on the cams from San Diego, Washington's National Zoo, and Atlanta.  These zoos try to mimic nature as much as possible and leave the cubs with their moms until the natural weaning age of approximately 18 months so you have many more months of opportunity.  The cubs are really fun to watch when they are a couple of months older and mobile.  There used to be some wonderful videos on You Tube of Lun and cubbie's older sister Mei Lan and the antics they got up to.  Unfortunately most of them have been removed, I think because they used copyrighted music.  It is still worth looking on You Tube.  The San Diego Zoo also has some great videos of Zhen Zhen at the different stages in her development.  I am sure that you would love them.   
As you can see there is the potential to burn up a whole lot of time watching pandas and peregrines so I try to just check in briefly and then use other sources to catch up on what I might have missed.  Sometimes that requires more discipline than I possess.   

[eagle63_1999]

Just not catching it at the right time.  Pandas do sleep alot and the little ones really sleep alot.

[sami]

My timing is definitely off. All I've seen him do for the last few days is sleep - or else he's getting his bath. He doesn't seem to be wriggling around so much now in his sleep. Or maybe I'm just not watching at the right time.

[carly]

I voted for a name as well, I chose Li Lan if memory serves me correctly.  I thought it rhymed with Mei Lan..hehe..brother and sister 

Seriously he's the cutest little panda bear ever!!  I just melt everytime I see him.  It's amazing how you can watch him sleep for so long and think it's exciting 

[maggieblue]

The little guy was very active yesterday too.  At one point when he was in the L shaped den with the smooth floor, he spent a long time trying to make some forward progress and pretty much just went in a circle.  He tried sooo hard! 
I guess that I am going to have to stop calling him butterball soon.  Has anyone voted on his name yet?

[eagle63_1999]

Our young fellow is sure trying to get somewhere today, he was wishing his back legs would work I think.

[maggieblue]

Little cubbie is having an adventure in the bamboo forest today.  Lun Lun decided to take him on an outing to the den where her bamboo is.  It is nervewracking when she does this, however also fun to watch