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.
You’re invited to a housewarming celebration! The new visitor interpretive exhibit in the panda house is finished and we would love for everyone to come visit and see it.
Bei Bei and the red pandas, Asa and Jackie, will receive their treats in their yards
Veterinarians are giving Mei Xiang weekly ultrasounds to track changes in her uterus. Though it’s too early to see a possible cub on an ultrasound, SCBI scientists detected a rise in hormones, indicating Mei Xiang will either give birth or experience the end of a pseudopregnancy in 30 to 50 days.
August Birthdays Bei Bei and Tian Tian are celebrating birthdays later this month
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.
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!
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
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
Beginning today, June 24, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be closed to keep a quiet area around female giant panda Mei Xiang’s den.
Please note that although Bei Bei and Tian Tian will have access to be outside until
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
