Panda Updates – Monday, August 31

Birthday season is in full swing here in PandaLand! We celebrated Lun Lun’s 23rd birthday last week with some fun enrichment. This Thursday, September 3, we have special surprises for the twins’ 4th birthday, and next week on September 9, we’ll be honoring Yang Yang as he turns 23. All these birthdays mean a lot of preparation of enrichment by the Panda Care Team. There are boxes and banners to paint, scents to select (for the hay inside the boxes), and layers upon layers of ice “cakes” with panda-approved decorations to create. Every year it’s a fun challenge to outdo the previous year’s birthdays and think of new ways to enrich the pandas! And the best part is that after all that work, after cleaning the overnight messes and setting up the dayroom with birthday enrichment, we get to watch the pandas enjoy it! Seeing enrichment be successful with animals is one of the greatest joys of working at the Zoo. Thankfully, we’re able to share that fun with you, too! We hope you’ll join us to watch Ya Lun and Xi Lun receive their birthday enrichment this Thursday, September 3, at 10 a.m. EST on our social media networks.

Michelle E.
Keeper III, Mammals

(photo by Danica W.)