Panda Update – Monday, July 24

In less than two months, the cubs will be turning a year old! This means the twins will soon be too big and too strong for us to share the same space with. The decrease in handling cubs also means we will have difficulty putting blue food coloring on Ya Lun to assist in identifying the two of them while on PandaCam. To help you all out, here are a few extra tips to tell the twins apart when you’re tuning in.

The first, of course, is their different eye markings. Xi Lun has swoops that make her eye patches appear as if they are flaring out, while Ya Lun’s are more circular. If the cubs are side by side and not lying down, Ya Lun is also noticeably larger than her sister. Since the cubs spend most of their time sleeping in the structures, it’s also handy to know how to tell them apart based on their resting locations. While in Dayroom One, Ya Lun is almost always on the left, while Xi Lun sprawls out and takes up much of the right side of the structure. When snoozing in Dayroom Two, Xi Lun tends to climb higher up the structure at the top of the teepee. Ya Lun, if she is unsuccessful in sitting on her sister and getting her to move, hangs out just a little bit farther down the log.
Danica W.
Swing Keeper I, Mammals
(photo by Danica W.)