Things have been very busy in the panda nursery lately! The Animal Management Team is keeping a close eye on Lun Lun and the cubs and has been observing their behavior since they were given access to the dayroom exhibit on Monday. Rebecca Snyder, PhD, Curator of Mammals, took some time to answer a few more of your giant panda questions:
What vocalizations does Lun Lun use to communicate with the cubs, and vice versa? The cubs don’t vocalize often anymore, which is normal. In the first few weeks of life, they are very vocal because they have to be repositioned frequently to stay warm and to nurse. They don’t need that type of intensive care anymore. Lun Lun’s vocalizations are also infrequent. Occasionally, she will bleat when she is looking for one of the cubs. Bleating is a friendly vocalization. Giant pandas use this during the breeding season, and a mother will also use this vocalization to call to her cubs.
Has Lun Lun gained a normal amount of weight, and is she expected to gain more since she’s feeding two cubs?Lun Lun is at the upper end of her normal weight range, which is right where we want her to be. We want to make sure she has enough reserves to produce milk for two rapidly growing cubs.
Is Lun Lun giving both cubs equal care and nursing time? She sometimes appears to favor one over the other.Lun Lun is caring for both cubs equally. There is no indication that she favors one cub more than the other. She is equally responsive to both cubs.
Thanks, Rebecca! We are so happy that Lun Lun and cubs are healthy and enjoying family time together!
Thursday, November 21 UpdateMei Lun is becoming quite the inquisitive panda cub. At one point last night, I offered Lun Lun fresh bamboo with biscuits and produce in Den 3. Lun Lun immediately went over and started eating, having just woken up from a lengthy four-hour nap. Mei Lun had woken up from his slumber as Lun Lun passed him on her way to fresh food and decided to follow. Over the shift door ledge he went and explored the bamboo in Den 3 before discovering what his mom was eating. He became very interested in the smell of the leafeater biscuits and even licked them a few times! Then he discovered that some of the biscuits roll on the floor and was entertained for a few minutes as he rolled the biscuit around the den. After the excitement of rolling biscuits wore off, Mei Lun went back to his mom to see if she would play. Unfortunately she was more interested in bamboo, and after awhile he gave up and put himself back to bed in the nestbox in Den 2 where his brother was snoozing away.
Jen W.
Keeper I, Carnivores