Panda Updates – Wednesday, October 28

With the cooler fall weather, we have been able to give the giant pandas their outdoor habitats for longer periods of time. Here at Zoo Atlanta, we have two outdoor habitats that are visible to guests. We also have a “secret” third habitat located behind the scenes. This habitat allows the pandas to enjoy time in a space that most closely resembles their natural habitats. We allow all of the bamboo and plants to grow freely, so the pandas are able to forage, find bamboo they think will be tasty, and harvest it themselves. This is also the habitat our pandas get the most playful in (like the video you may have recently seen of Lun Lun splashing in the pool), and it’s fun to interact with them through the protective barrier while they are up there. We can play “tag,” “chase,” and just run around and have fun while still having a safety barrier between us. They will sprint (well, as much as a panda sprints) up and down the hills, do somersaults, and often get in the pool. The easiest way to find them in this habitat is to look for shaking bamboo that indicates where they might be eating a snack.

Danica W.
Keeper II, Mammals