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October 1
Last week was an eventful one for Tai Shan. Tai was given a complete physical under anesthesia. Recently, he had been reluctant to eat leaf-eater biscuits. This is the time of year when pandas can be picky about their bamboo, but they usually continue to consume their biscuits. They never lose interest in the sweet and juicy produce (apples, pear, carrot, and sweet potato)! We decided to give Tai a physical so we could get a thorough body assessment. This exam also gave us an opportunity to evaluate a panda during its seasonal period of low energy and appetite loss.
Tai is in excellent health. His body condition, from his nose to his tail, with special attention to his teeth, checked out just fine. Of course, we already knew that he is just perfect! One interesting finding was some inflammation of his esophagus, similar to the condition called acid-reflux in humans. This was discovered by using an endoscope to look at his digestive tract. Similar medications are used with zoo animals to soothe the irritated esophagus. Although a lot is known about this condition, especially in people and some domestic animals, we are providing new information to our medical database on pandas. And I'm happy to report that Tai Shan is chomping on his biscuits like a champ again!
Zoo animals get physical exams as part of a comprehensive preventative health-care program. Scheduling is dependent on many factors related to the need to monitor health, based on knowledge of the natural history and health of particular species, experiences in zoos, and individual medical history. Every time a procedure is done, we build upon a comprehensive and ever-growing body of information on exotic species.
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Watching giant pandas:
The panda cams provide a window into the world of the Zoo's giant pandas—three-year-old Tai Shan, his mother, Mei Xiang, and his father, Tian Tian. If you see two pandas on the cam, you're watching Mei and Tian. At Tai's first exam, he weighed a little less than two pounds. In June, he weighed 181 pounds.
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Camera II
Giant Panda videos
Tai Shan Exam, September 19, 2005 | Mei Xiang and Tai Shan, October 2, 2005 | Tai Shan Exam, October 31, 2005 | Mei and Tai, November 10, 2005 | Tai Shan’s First Year (Highlights)
September 19
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have been spending a few hours each morning together for the past three weeks. It is as though nothing has changed when they are reunited after their long separations. Silent play is followed by long naps in their respective enclosures. What a treat it is to watch them so active and engaged!
They usually start out eating bamboo side by side. Mei Xiang always reaches over to take Tian’s choice piece of bamboo, forcing him to find another piece. After eating, the play begins!
It is not unusual for them to use the trees, as well as the deadfall in these tumble and wrestling sessions. Both Mei and Tian solicit play by bouncing up into the air, their heads tossing and paws waving, until they make a solid landing on the other’s body. They usually tire after one or two sessions and then they go their separate ways. Lately, Mei Xiang is back to napping on the side of the grotto in yard two, while Tian Tian rests inside the grotto in yard one. Some of the rotten deadfall has met its demise under their recent antics and will need to be replaced. Meanwhile, the rotten wood is great for scent anointing, a sort of panda perfume.
While the adult pandas’ activity and appetites have improved, Tai Shan is still rather inactive, consuming only small amounts of bamboo. During the summer months, the pandas become lethargic and reduce their bamboo intake. Gradually, they pick up their appetite during October and November. This is also the time of the year when we see the pandas graze on the grasses in their enclosures. Tai was observed eating a paw-ful in very slow motion, before losing interest in it.
He was moved to yard one this week so that he could investigate the adults' scent and observe their activities. Tai quietly investigated their scent marks, occasionally vocalizing with just the softest chirp, before taking a long nap.
August 19
Mei Xiang has not been seen cradling objects and grooming herself since last Thursday. She has been going outdoors for a few hours each morning since last Friday. A few hours is her plan, along with quick-stepping keepers. Mei is still very attached to her den, off of exhibit three, huffing, honking, snorting, and head-tossing if we take too long to clean. The first time she went outdoors, she sniffed the yard over thoroughly until she had had enough and wanted to come inside. When she is outdoors or hungry she is her old self again. Mei is eating really well and has the best bamboo consumption of the three pandas.
Over the past few days, we have been able to get caught up with our routine blood-pressure measurements and blood draws for all pandas. They are active early and then the summer lethargy sets in. Tian Tian has been spending a lot of time on his back in his air-conditioned grotto, but by the peak heat of the day he is ready to retreat indoors. Tai Shan has been sleeping in late most mornings. When Tai goes outdoors, he is back in his habit of sleeping on one of the two drainage grates. Although he was using the water-chilled grotto in yards three and four earlier in the summer, we have not seen him there recently.
We are also catching up on making repairs and cleaning. Our entire camera system is being renovated or replaced, thanks to support from Discovery. Electricians have adjusted the "hot vines" (electrified faux vines) for the growth and well being of the trees. Plumbers have repaired one of our most important appliances. It has been a busy week already.
Giant pandas are black and white bears that live in temperate-zone bamboo forests in central China. Among the best recognized—but rarest—animals in the world, they have come to symbolize endangered species and conservation efforts. As few as 1,600 giant pandas survive in the mountain forests of central China. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world; most of these pandas are in China.
Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are at the National Zoo on a ten-year loan from the China Wildlife Conservation Association. They are the focus of an ambitious research, conservation, and breeding program designed to preserve this endangered species.
