Panda Updates- Monday, September 23

We announced on Friday that the pandas are expected to travel to China in mid-October (see our full post from September 20 for more), and as we prepare for them to make their journey,  I can’t help but reminisce on some of my favorite memories from taking care of the bears. I haven’t been as lucky as some of the Panda Care Team, who have been working with them for many years. I started working with them about a year and half ago, and they have definitely made a big impression on me in a short amount of time.

Each of the four bears have very different personalities and enjoy different things. I will never forget the first time I saw Yang Yang interact with some of his favorite spices and smells, or the first time I watched him while we blew bubbles for him. He does what is called “self-anointing,” which is a natural behavior bears do when they rub a desirable smell all over their body. It is very fun to watch and interesting to see which scents each bear prefers. Yang Yang really loves strong smells, especially things that have a vinegar base. He also likes to rub his body to pop the bubbles when blown in his direction and rub the bubble smell all over his fur. To this day it remains one of my favorite activities to do with the bears. 

Panda Care Team