Panda Update – Mon. January 30

Our after-hours night shift in the panda nursery has officially come to an end. This is a great milestone for the cubs and for us, as the cubs are doing well enough and Lun Lun is experienced enough that we felt it was the right time to move forward with this step. Lun Lun has been receiving her large quantities (30 kilograms or 66 pounds!) of overnight bamboo at the normal closing time for a couple of weeks now in order to get her ready for this step. She has been doing quite well with this and is even occasionally still asleep in the mornings when the morning keeper comes in. Unfortunately, this means that after 5:30 p.m. there will no longer be any keepers here to move the camera and that the only infrared camera is not in the den that the cubs prefer to sleep in. An end to after-hours watch also means that the building, which had been split “Yang side” and “Lun side,” is now whole again. The first couple weeks will be a bit hectic while we figure out a routine that works for all of us. Thank you for your patience and understanding if you’re watching the Cam at night!
Shauna
Keeper II, Mammals