As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, the pandas are spending more time in their yards. Panda keepers sometimes get asked by the visitors why we place the bamboo and enrichment items in the places that we do when we set up the yards.
Last Tuesday, Mei Xiang and Bei Bei swapped yards in the morning.
Tian Tian is ready for breeding season. He is in full rut, which means that he frequently scent marks and can be very restless. Those are normal behaviors for a male panda readying himself for breeding.
March 23, 2017 Giant Panda Breeding Season is Almost Here Bei Bei has adjusted
Activity at the giant panda habitat has slowed since the flurry of breeding season in May. Keepers, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and veterinarians were monitoring Mei Xiang very closely to determine when she would ovulate. Her chance to conceive a cub arrived May 25. Now, almost two months later, it’s the calm before they start scrutinizing Mei Xiang’s hormones again.
Bei Bei continues to be his playful self.
Are you an extreme panda fan? Try not to get bamboo-zled by this hardcore quiz!
Mei Xiang Bei Bei Hsing Hsing Tian Tian Giant panda Continue Exploring May
The panda house is closed to the public beginning today, Sept. 1 to provide quiet for Mei Xiang as she enters the final stages of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy.
Visitors can still see Tian Tian and Bei Bei outside.
Beginning Aug. 18, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be partially closed to keep a quiet area around panda Mei Xiang’s den. Although we are not able to confirm if she is pregnant, Mei Xiang is exhibiting expected, normal behaviors following a secondary hormone rise that are in line with both a pregnancy and pseudo, or false, pregnancy.
Please note, that although Bei Bei will have access to be outside until 2 p.m., due
Mei Xiang has started exhibiting more behaviors consistent with the secondary hormone phase of a pregnancy or a pseudopregnancy. That means that she has been spending the majority of her time sleeping. Simultaneously, she is starting to build a nest in her den and to eat less. Keepers have also seen the first signs of self-grooming from her. All of these behaviors are expected and normal for a female in the secondary hormone phase.
Bei Bei’s Second Birthday Bei Bei turned two years old Aug. 22!
Our panda team observed Mei Xiang and her cub overnight and were happy with the behaviors they saw. As expected, Mei Xiang is being an excellent and attentive mother. She has already established positions for nursing and sleeping.
In previous years, Bao Bao and Bei Bei would vocalize when she attempted to lie down
Giant panda Mei Xiang continues to be a wonderful mother to her newborn. Last night, she gently set the cub down on the floor of their den and walked into her main indoor enclosure to drink some water.
When her last cub, Bei Bei, was born Aug. 22, 2015, she didn’t take her first bite
Who’s black, white and ready to paw-ty? As part of the Pandaversary celebration, Asia Trail keepers threw a bearthday fête fit for our beloved giant panda family.
She has given birth to four cubs: male Tai Shan, female Bao Bao, male Bei Bei and
