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Hello, everyone! I’m Courtney, a gorilla caregiver, here to tell you about some of the tool-use skills our gorillas have and how most of their enrichment opportunities encourage those natural behaviors. Gorillas, like other apes, use sticks as tools to forage for food. Observing tool-use in animals is exciting, because it highlights similarities between humans … Continue reading "Tool use in gorillas"

The cubs have both exceeded the 90-pound mark. Ya Lun is still the heavier of the two at around 43 kilograms, with Xi Lun at around 42 kilograms. They are little bamboo-eating machines and they’ve begun coming inside with Lun Lun almost every time we need to freshen up Lun’s bamboo. Right now we have … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Monday, February 12"

I recently wrote about Ya Lun finding her preferred sleeping spot in the outdoor habitat, but Xi Lun hadn’t quite settled on her sleeping spot. However, just last week, Xi Lun finally decided that the bottom layer of the structure is comfortable enough for her morning nap. As you can see in the photo, she … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Friday, February 9"

Try to imagine a new color. Well, just stop, because it is not possible. Every color that you can imagine is simply a mixture of the red-green-blue wavelengths that comprise the Human Visual Spectrum. There are plenty of other wavelengths wandering through the universe, but our eyes cannot detect them. We live our life in … Continue reading "Color: in the eye of the beholder?"

If you follow PandaCam, you may have noticed a new addition to Dayroom 1. Last week, thanks to a very generous donor, we installed a brand-new hammock for the giant pandas to enjoy. In the past, we have made hammocks out of firehoses that have gradually worn out over time. The last hammock met its … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Monday, February 5"

As many of you are aware, we have been hard at work here in the Herpetology Department. If you have visited Scaly Slimy Spectacular, you may have discovered some big changes occurring! There has been a lot of construction with sawing, hammering, drilling, digging, welding, plumbing, and concreting throughout the building. The habitat updates are … Continue reading "Exciting things to come in Herpetology"

As mentioned in previous posts, the cubs’ personalities have started to shine through as they have gotten older. They are both turning into great shifters during the day when we need to clean a dayroom and add fresh bamboo. The sound of the leafeater biscuit container will wake them out of a dead sleep and … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Friday, January 26"

Wrapping up the research year around Zoo Atlanta, I’d like to thank the readers out there who have been reading my blog here. It’s great to know that indeed, people are reading my posts! That is very gratifying, and I hope you all will continue in 2018. I’ve never done a regular writing series before. … Continue reading "A year in review"

Ya Lun still loves her sweet potato. Xi Lun, not so much. We also started offering half a banana to each cub. Ya Lun of course loves it, and Xi Lun feels lukewarm about the mushy sweetness. It’s hilarious to watch the cubs eat bananas: They don’t like the peel at this age, so they … Continue reading "Panda Updates – Wednesday, January 24"

It’s important to know where your food comes from. Do you prefer beef from grass-fed or grain-fed cows? Do your eggs come from caged or free-range chickens? Did this glass of water come from the purest spring in the Swiss Alps, or did you just scoop this out of the toilet? The same goes for … Continue reading "How to be a Sustainable Seafood Shopper"