Panda Updates – Monday, July 30

A new milestone the twins reached was a week or so ago. We started getting their p.m. weights! We weigh the adults first thing in the morning, and at the end of the day. An adult giant panda’s weight can fluctuate up to 20 pounds in the 10 hours we are here each day, purely from the food they consume. Until the twins get the hang of morning weights, we usually only get their weight once. Now that they are older, and especially since they hit one of their typical growing plateaus, we get their weights in the afternoon as well. The weight change is a good indicator that even though they haven’t hit another growth spurt yet, they are still gaining enough weight each day and thus are eating an appropriate amount of bamboo. A subadult’s weight can fluctuate by 4 to 7 pounds by the end of the day. Rest assured that we aren’t worried about their weights, as they are right on par with all their other siblings at this age; we’re just waiting for that next growth spurt!
Jen W.
Keeper III, Mammals