Giant Panda Updates

Posts for July 2009

On schedule

Construction of Adelaide Zoo’s Giant Panda House is on schedule to be completed by September 25. This allows two to three weeks to commission the building prior to the Giant Pandas arriving to complete a minimum of four weeks quarantine in the middle of October.

The official opening of the Panda House is scheduled for Monday December 14. Adelaide Zoo’s Giant Panda House is extensive and has many interesting features including:

Giant Panda Trip - 17th May

Today we go home looking forward to seeing our families and friends but also slightly disappointed the journey has come to an end. We have been living and breathing Giant Pandas for the last 2 weeks and have loved every minute of it. The experience we have gained both in China and Hong Kong has been absolutely invaluable. No amount of research could have given us the same experience as working with these beautiful animals on a daily basis.

Giant Panda Trip - 16th May

Today Gert and I arrived at Ocean Park Zoo and were met by the General Curator Grant Abel. Grant has worked at the park for the last 4 years and has the unique experience of working in the place that his father was involved in designing over 30 years ago. He spent a lot of his childhood at the park and is now leading the way with new developments.

Giant Panda Trip - 15th May

Today we flew out of Chengdu and into Hong Kong. Wayne Boardman has a contact in the Ocean Park Zoo and has arranged for us to meet some of the staff there tomorrow. Ocean Park has just opened its brand new Giant Panda exhibit so it will be fantastic to see a very modern facility and its workings.

Giant Panda Trip - 14th May

Today we met with 2 representatives from the Panda Reserve and the Powerhouse team to discuss each organizations' different roles in moving Wang Wang and Funi to Adelaide. It was another long meeting with our interpreters working overtime to make sure there were no communication breakdowns. Many issues were discussed and we now have enough information to start preparing for the move.

Giant Panda Trip - 13th May

This morning we met with Alex Kijurina from Powerhouse and one of his colleagues who is based in Shanghai. It is an enormous job getting our pandas from Bifengxiu to Adelaide and that is why we need specialised help. Some huge factors to consider are what types of aircraft we can use, whether the freight area is temperature controlled and how much space is required around the pandas to give them maximum comfort during the journey.

Giant Panda Trip - 12th May

Today was the 1 year anniversary of the horrific earthquake that devastated the Sichuan Province. Being in China for this solemn occasion was very eerie. I felt so sorry for the people who had lost loved ones and found myself really missing my own family back home.

Giant Panda Trip - 11th May

The procedure was done with a keeper and a vet. Each panda den has a section in the bars where the panda can put its whole arm through into a tube-like extension. At the end of this extension is a bar for the panda to hang on to. This is a similar action to holding a stalk of bamboo. The keeper asks the panda to hold on to the bar while the vet shaves and sterilises the site in preparation for the needle. The keeper feeds the panda pieces of apples, carrot and “cake” while the vet is drawing the blood. The panda didn’t flinch once or seem bothered in any way by this procedure. Taking blood regularly like this is vital for their research and can also detect pregnancies and signs of bad health.

We were also extremely fortunate to witness a full training session today with one of Funi’s exhibit mates.

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