Panda Updates – Wednesday, January 10

With the recent cold snap, we have been able to offer the pandas river cane bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea). River cane bamboo is native to Georgia and, as it name suggests, grows along river banks. Our pandas love river cane, but only if it is harvested below 40° Fahrenheit. I don’t know why, but I assume that the bamboo contains the perfect combination of nutrients when cut at or below that temperature. We have tried offering river cane at warmer temperatures and the pandas do not eat it. Ya Lun and Xi Lun love the river cane just as much as their parents do, and are helping Lun Lun plow through it daily. All of Lun Lun’s cubs have eaten river cane voraciously when they have been introduced to it, and these girls are no different.
Heather R.
Senior Keeper, Carnivores