Panda Updates – Friday, July 14

Today was an extra-fun enrichment day here in PandaLand! As the twins get older, they are showing more interest in the enrichment items that their parents both love. Today we dabbed rubbing alcohol on the dayroom structures, and the cubs and Lun Lun had a great time anointing and rolling around in it. At one point, they were all rolling together in one giant ball, and all you could see were paws and heads popping up once in a while. We also gave them some biscuit balls made of leafeater biscuit powder. When we finish one of the bags, there are all kinds of good crumbs and bits at the bottom, so we make a new treat out of them to minimize waste. The pandas enjoy the softer texture and sometimes we even mix in some banana!

Now don’t worry, we of course didn’t forget about Yang Yang. Today he enjoyed some of his favorite scents including Tabasco and mouthwash, as well as some of the biscuit balls I mentioned earlier. While Lun Lun and the cubs were enjoying lunch, Yang Yang also got some extra keeper time behind the scenes. He was in a very playful mood, so we did some extra training sessions and played a good game of tug-of-war. Yang Yang schooled keeper Jen A.; it’s pretty hard to beat 300 pounds of daddy bear and pseudothumbs (but we always let him win anyway).
Danica W.
Swing Keeper, Mammals