Panda Updates – Friday, July 30

The Fourth of July ice cakes the giant pandas received earlier this month have inspired us to start scheming early for the upcoming giant panda birthday season. This year, Lun Lun and Yang Yang will be turning 24 and the twins will be a whopping 5 years old! Perhaps we’ll throw them a kindergarten-themed party? The sky is the limit, but time is always of the essence when planning panda birthdays! Our teammates at the Animal Nutrition Kitchen are very kind to let us borrow space in their walk-in freezer as we build our elaborate creations, so we try to time everything perfectly in order to leave plenty of room for the diets of other animals. Not every layer can be made at once, so the creation of an ice cake can stretch over several weeks. Starting in late summer, the panda building is littered with sketches of potential ice cakes. We enjoy it as much as the pandas do, and I am already looking forward to the giant panda birthday celebrations. Stay tuned for more details on the festivities!

And if you think time flies, enjoy this throwback photo of Ya Lun – posted four years ago this week!

Michelle E.
Keeper III, Mammals