Pandas - Georgia / Atlanta Zoo

[carly]

*sigh* Pandas are not cuddle toys, there are bears with powerful jaws.  Alot of the ones in China have also been rescued from the wild and then put into zoos so they aren't as used to humans as much as the captive raised ones are.  I really hope they don't punish the poor bear in any way 

[Loriann]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/01/12/vause.china.panda.attack.cnn

Maybe he tasted like stringy bamboo?   

[eagle63_1999]

Omg yes I saw Mei Lan running and jumping about, it was such a delight to watch her.  And yes let's hope the sponsorship comes through!

[carly]

Me too Eagle, he's just the sweetest.  They all are - did you see Mei Lan yesterday jumping in and out of the hammock - she was so happy to have it back!  The Zoo has updated their website with details about them negotiating with sponsors for the cam and they are optomistic so hopefully they will be back sooner than later! 

[eagle63_1999]

It is the afternoon of the last day of the webcam in Atlanta and the cub is keeping me entertained.  He's been chewing on bamboo leaves. rolling on the floor, scratching, doing all the bear cubs things. He's soooooo cute. I will miss this webcam for sure.

[carly]

Just checked again and the girl heard back from the Zoo - if they resign it will be early next week so there will be no cam after today until then! 

Lun is dragging BeBe everywhere this morning..she had to pull him off a log ..lol..he didn't want to go 

[carly]

Still no word on extending the cam however with it being the holidays they expect it won't be until next week if it happens.  The Zoo hasn't said anything so I'm assuming today is the last day to enjoy our panda cam for awhile - unless they surprise at the last minute - so enjoying the little guy while you can!

[carly]

Oops..forget to say thanks Maggie for sharing the news about the San Diego Pandas staying on another 5 years - heh I was so excited about the panda cam I just hit post and went back to watching Xi Lan and Lun. 

Between peregrines and pandas...I can see I will have no life this year..

[maggieblue]

Great to see that the hammock has been re-intalled in the day room and that Lun has stashed her little cubbie in there while she eats her boo.  Xi Lan looks very comfy.  Let's hope that some sponsor comes to the rescue of the webcam so that we can continue to watch his development. 
On the good news side, the San Diego Zoo announced this month that a new loan extension has been negotiated with China for the four pandas there.  The charismatic little Zhen Zhen will be weaned in the coming months and therefore there is hope that the wonderful panda mom Bai Yun will have a fifth cub this summer with the little studmuffin Gao Gao.

[carly]

Little monkey has recovered well from his fall of yesterday.  Apparently he was out on display today in the dayroom and one of the zoo members was there to see it and has posted some pictures of Xi and all the Yangs and 2 of which are mini videos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58141177@N00/sets/72157611742369912/detail/

What a nice treat!

[eagle63_1999]

Yeah I saw that Carly, but they are tough little guys and it's amazing what they can survive!!

[carly]

Mom also dropped the BeBe from the top of that beam; poor little guy - thankfully he wasn't hurt but that's a long fall for someone that tiny. 
Fortunately the keepers have shut the entrance now that Lun has brought him inside again. 

It doesn't look like the zoo is going to continue the panda cam as they haven't said anything and there are only a few more days left.  That being said part of me has a hard time watching animals in cells - much as I love seeing them.  The other zoos with Panda's have nicer outdoor areas with rocks, water, and lots of trees for them to climb.  I can understand why Lun gets crazy sometimes - must be hard to be cooped up in such a small space when you are meant to walk miles a day in the wilderness. 

[sami]

Woohoo! I finally got to see the little one walking. Not bad, once he got his paws coordinated and all headed in the same direction. Walked a nice straight line, too. (Helps if you're beside a wall). He was just contemplating which way to turn when Mom came along and hauled him off. By the flailing of the legs, he wasn't exactly thrilled at first, but then settled down. Hard to think we soon might not be able to see the action.

[eagle63_1999]

Mom and the Xi lan are out in the main exhibit this morning, yipeeeeee and the baby is walking!!!!!!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Though I missed the big adventure, I wouldn't be too too concerned about Baby Bear, he's close to 4 months old and so he's pretty tough.  Also seems, from what I have seen, (and yes, have seen him/them non-napping though not often) Mom has a pretty soft mouth when it comes to moving him about.  He's bigger now so not so easy for her to move around.  Was watching "Pandemonium" on Animal Planet a couple of nights ago and had different camera angles and saw what sounds like the same kind of behaviour.  It looked kinda nerve-wracking but normal.  Cub was fine, actually had a ball on the tree once Mom got him up there ... little bit later he was knocking himself silly trying to get back up there and the tree branch was only 3-4 feet above the ground!  Fun to watch him try though!