Panda Updates – Wednesday, January 3

Brrrr! Who turned up the air conditioner in Atlanta this week? It’s about as cold here as it was in Pennsylvania when I was visiting for Christmas. Yikes! Of course, the pandas don’t really seem to mind. Just one more way that the giant pandas are different from the meat-eating carnivores and many of the other animals in the Zoo. On a day like today, while others are inside and away from the frigid outdoors, the giant pandas are built for this type of weather. Though the cubs still need some time to adjust to the extreme cold, the adults are old pros, and Yang Yang has enjoyed some time outside this week. Even Idgie the red panda seems unfazed for the most part; she seemed far more interested in greeting me with her little bleats this morning, urging me to hurry up with her breakfast. And speaking of breakfast, the cubs are definitely becoming bamboo-eating machines! Lun Lun and the girls chowed down on quite a bit of bamboo while we were getting the dayrooms ready this morning. I’d say they were bulking up because of the cold, but maybe that’s just me … I guess we’ll see if they continue to eat this much when it gets a bit warmer.
Erin D.
Keeper II, Mammals