Panda Updates- Monday, November 7

As was mentioned in a previous panda update, we recently celebrated Halloween with two weekends of Boo at the Zoo. It’s a festival-like atmosphere and I always love getting to see all the creative costumes. Even better, the animals get to join in on the fun, too! We receive a gigantic shipment of pumpkins, and Volunteers work for months in advance on special Halloween-themed enrichment. This year, the giant pandas received paper chains, cardboard cutouts painted like ghosts, cats, and skulls, and painted boxes filled with scented hay and biscuits. They had a great time! Ya Lun even got in on the fun a little more than she usually does. We’ve noticed in the past that Ya Lun does not typically interact with paper enrichment, but on the final day of Boo at the Zoo, we saw her climb up on some logs in one of the dayrooms and use her mouth to toss the paper chains and cardboard cutouts we had placed there onto the floor. She then proceeded to make herself comfortable atop her perch and take a nap. It wasn’t much interaction, but hey, it’s progress! Xi Lun is always happy to play with everything Ya Lun leaves untouched, so the enrichment still got plenty of use!