Panda Updates – Friday, March 3

Throughout the day, we bring the pandas into the back so that we can clean up leftovers and give them fresh bamboo, biscuits and produce. Yesterday, we brought Lun Lun inside, but the cubs remained sleeping on the climbing structure, which is typical. As always, while I was cleaning, I kept my eye on the cubs in case they woke up and wanted to climb down. Indeed, Xi Lun started to wiggle and squirm and I could see she was going to climb down from the structure into the hammock. I left the dayroom and closed the keeper door, then opened the panda door, and asked Xi Lun to come inside. She took a few minutes to climb down from the structure, but once on the ground, she ran to the panda door and ran inside. Both cubs have frequently run inside with their mothe,r and we say the cue word to them when they do this so they start learning this behavior, but so far, this is the first time one of the cubs has come inside on her own without Lun Lun. I was so proud of Xi Lun!
Heather R.
Senior Keeper, Carnivores