Zoo

Photo: Christina Castiglione, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Following on the heels of the two baby lion cubs comes more good news from the National Zoo:

“Our keepers on American Trail have been working around the clock to care for the newest addition to the gray seal exhibit – a pup born Jan. 21. Within 48-hours of the birth our team of keepers, veterinarians and nutritionists who had been closely monitoring mom, Kara, and pup prepared to hand-feed the pup if it became necessary. When it became clear that Kara was not able to produce enough milk to support the pup without supplemental feedings they intervened. The keepers are now tube-feeding the pup six times every day. And yesterday they were able to hand-feed the pup a small capelin fish for the first time!

After this morning’s feeding and weigh-in the team is cautiously optimistic that the pup is headed in the right direction. She now weighs 43 pounds, up from her birth weight of about 35 pounds! The last pup born at the Zoo was Kara’s sister, gray seal Kjya in 1990. Both females are offspring of elderly female gray seal Selkie. Kara was born at the Zoo in 1983, and is the oldest gray seal in to give birth in human care. Male gray seal Gunther sired the pup. If all goes well, we expect the pup to make her debut on exhibit with the adult gray and harbor seals in the spring!”

Photo by PoPville flickr user J Sonder

Ed. Note: You can read a tribute to Red Pandas here and relive Rusty’s temporary escape here.

From the National Zoo:

“Red pandas Rusty and Shama have moved from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo to our Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Rusty and Shama are paired as a result of a breeding recommendation based on the Species Survival Plan. Shama has bred successfully in the Zoo’s exhibit, but it’s possible the increased visitor traffic for giant panda Bao Bao could have compromised successful breeding for this pair. Out at SCBI, Rusty and Shama will get a little extra peace and quiet. Animal keepers report that Rusty and Shama are adjusting well to their new surroundings. Rusty immediately began to explore his new enclosure before munching down some bamboo grown onsite at SCBI. (more…)

Photo by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Great Cats team celebrated the arrival of its first litter of African lion cubs in four years. On Jan. 24, the Zoo’s 10-year-old lion Nababiep gave birth to three cubs—two surviving—in an eight-hour period. These cubs are the third litter for Nababiep and the fourth for 8-year-old father, Luke.

Animal care staff watched Nababiep give birth via a closed-circuit webcam and continue to monitor the family. The first cub was born at 3:58 a.m. and appeared active and healthy. Five hours later at 8:51 a.m., Nababiep delivered her second cub, but it was stillborn. The third cub was born at 11:24 a.m. and appeared active and healthy. It is not uncommon for animals, in this case a lion, to have some healthy and one or more stillborn cubs in the same litter. Nababiep and her two cubs have been under close observation throughout the weekend by the Zoo’s animal care team. They appear to be nursing, moving and vocalizing well, so keepers have not needed to intervene. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

From the National Zoo:

“Bao Bao is proving to be most active in the early mornings and in the mid afteroon. Today she and Mei Xiang enjoyed an extended play session inside the panda house. Bao Bao pounced on Mei’s head several times and even wresteled with a stalk of bamboo. All the excitement wore her out, and she was sound asleep in the den about an hour later.

Bao Bao’s debut for the general public is Saturday, Jan. 18. The panda house will extend its hours in an attempt to accommodate the visitors expected to come see Bao Bao. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Jan. 18 through Jan. 20, and visitors will be allowed into the house in small groups to avoid overcrowding on a first-come, first-served basis. Bao Bao and Mei Xiang will have access to the den during those times, and may choose to spend time in it instead of on exhibit. Beginning Jan. 21 the panda house will open to FONZ members only from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. At 10 a.m. the panda house will open to the general public.” (more…)

Photo by Abby Wood, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

From the National Zoo:

“The panda cam may be down for a few hours today for maintenance on the cam system starting at 9:30 a.m. Stay tuned; it will be back up soon!”

Photo via National Zoo

From the National Zoo’s Facebook page:

“Keepers took advantage of the snow at the Zoo this morning and did some special enrichment with Bao Bao. Since she’s not quite ready to go outside and play in the snow yet, they brought the snow to her! Her reaction was “lukewarm to the cold snow.” She put her paws and nose in the bucket of snow keepers brought inside the panda house for her, but after a few minutes she moved on to explore other things – which isn’t unexpected since everything is new to her right now.”

Ed. Note: Bao Bao will be shown to the public starting Jan. 18th.

From the National Zoo:

“This morning at about 11:40, a keeper heard a commotion from the Cheetah Conservation Station cheetah yard. When the keeper investigated, he found a white-tailed deer on the ground in the exhibit with cheetah siblings Carmelita and Justin. Sadly, the deer was dead. Zoo staff removed the deer from the exhibit by 11:54 a.m. A necropsy report will be conducted to ensure the deer didn’t carry any diseases. Our animal care team will also check the cheetahs, but all signs point to them being unharmed. There were no known witnesses to the incident, but it appears the deer jumped into the enclosure.”

“Dear PoPville,

No one who is familiar with Rock Creek Park and its deer population will find this surprising, but I thought these presumably wild deer having breakfast by the back entrance to the Zoo made for a wonderfully ironic picture.”

Photo: Abby Wood, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“Bao Bao is becoming a master at giant panda locomotion! She climbed up on the rockwork in Mei Xiang’s enclosure early Wednesday morning all by herself. She took a little tumble, but she was completely unhurt and Mei Xiang quickly came to her side. Undeterred by gravity, she soon was at it again and pulled herself back up on to the rockwork. Mei ended the climbing session shortly after her second successful attempt.

Wednesday keepers offered Bao Bao her first taste of juice. Since Bao Bao showed interest in the juice, they will likely use that as a reward during future training sessions with her.

Keepers have noticed that Mei Xiang may be ready to take Bao Bao outside. In the next week you may notice Mei Xiang and Bao Bao exploring different parts of the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat together – including Mei’s newly cub-proofed outdoor areas! But don’t rush to the Zoo to see the two of them quite yet. Bao Bao will not be visible to the public until January 18 (only FONZ members will be able to see her from January 11 to January 17). If Mei does choose to venture outside with Bao Bao, the panda team will close the area around the panda habitat to provide quiet for the bears. But panda cam viewers will still be able to see them on the cams.”

Photo: Abby Wood, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“Bao Bao had a busy day Friday! She was very active and spent the entire day in one of Mei Xiang’s large indoor enclosures. That was the first time she has spent an entire day outside of the den!

Keepers also weighed Bao Bao early Friday morning. She is now up to 13.2 pounds (6.26 kilos).

As Bao Bao’s teeth are starting to come in, she also occasionally bites down on bamboo. But she’s still nursing and won’t start to sample bamboo for another few months.

The keepers are laying the groundwork for training with Bao Bao. They reward her for moving or looking toward them when they interact with her. Right now her reward is a tiny evergreen branch or a tiny piece of bamboo to play with, but when she gets older she will get small treats for choosing to participate.”