First european giant panda baby since 1982 and a first for Vienna Zoo This species is doing so well that China might be forced to give some away soon photo: http://www.zoovienna.at/images/t/pandababy_01_b.jpg
Give some to Highland wildlife park. They've got/ or are going to get some red pandas. Make a chinese exhibit.
this is wonderful news first european cub since the cubs born in madrid, i know for a fact that edinburgh are very keen to get giant pandas they are included in the masterplan for the zoo and enquiries have been made
Come on Mark, you know they are. Why we discussed how logical it would a few threads ago. It was also mentioned in the article about Seaworld getting killer whales.
A second giant panda from a natural mating has been born at the zoo, the young was born on Monday. AFP: Second panda born in Vienna zoo
Is it not time to reveal the secret of natural mating, so more giant pandas are born under the natural cues of reproduction? Why is the Schoenbrunn pair so compatible? Difficulty in breeding in giant pandas is a myth ... It is just the fine-tuning of the various cues like the female chirping and the cues from responding males.
It does show that it is possible sometimes even in 1.1 'pair' situations. And if it happens once, they are likely to be able to repeat it. Is the secret in their mode of rearing? Maybe these two were both mother-raised and therefore related better to each other. I wonder how many of the other pairs supplied to Europe or the US, both past and present have contained a handreared individual which creates an identity problem and prevents natural matings. Although at some of these zoos there have also been natural matings without conception.
I wonder if giant pandas reproduce poorly because of overheating? My reasoning is: wild giant panda doesn't hibernate and cannot build fat reserves because of nutrient-deficient diet. So it is likely tuned for low temperature. Giant pandas in zoos fared well in upland Mexico City, and elsewhere suffered from several problems which I never seen mentioned in other captive animals, but could be explained by overheating. So perhaps shady exhibits with good climbing structures (wind!) are good for giant pandas?
No, same procedure as always at Wolong, cubbies were seperated from their mothers at the age of 5-6 months, so that they mothers could get in estrus for the next round asap. Yang Yang and Long Hui do know each other from the kindergarden at Wolong. They came to Vienna at the age of 2.5 years. After they arrived at Vienna, they were not seperated! They could discover their new home together, there was no single moment of fear nor panic as there was shown by Hua Zui Ba at Madrid and Funi at Adelaide (and still can be seen at Adelaide!). In Vienna the pandas are aloud to join each other when ever they want. The great enclosure construction with a lot of climbing facilities, bushes, caves and trees gives the animals also the opportunity to take a break from each other even when the gates are open. Also after mating the pandas were not seperated. Any change in the daily routine could cause stress for the female. Only since a few days before giving birth, when Yang Yang started to build a nest in the den, the gates have been closed. Oddly enough, at that time Long Hui was not interested to move over to Yang Yang's area any more. Maybe it is instinct for the male's saftety to stay away from a mum with her cub. When the new cubbie will be old enough to stay on its own in the den for longer time, Yang Yang and Long Hui will join each other again. It worked great with Fu Long, Mummy Yang Yang spend some time with Long Hui and for her own while Fu Long was sleeping, the other time she was a great Mum and took care of her baby. I'm sure it will work with the new baby too. IMHO beside several other factors (e.g. food, medical training, general dealing with the pandas etc.) there is a main reason for the success at Zoo Vienna: a wonderful enclosure that absolutely fits the needs of the animals, with the focus on the needs of the animals and not of those of the visitors!
Fascinating read ... errrhhh and might well explain why natural panda breeding is down to making pairs accomodating and accustomed to each others' presence prior to any mating season. I know that the basics in most zoos (inside and outside P.R. China) is usually to keep the sexes separate outside the female's period of being in heat. Pose the question: is the latter perhaps not a wee bit contrived. Giant pandas in situ in the wild have no difficulty mating under natural conditions. Please read Lu Zhi/Schaller book on giant pandas and research ... For those in the know: Prof Pan Wenshi handled giant panda cubs in the wild on telemetry and other ecological field studies way before anyone dared handle panda cubs in captivity. Time to learn from the ancients ... I guess (in matters giant panda natural reproduction)!
Mummy Yang Yang and her new cubbie are doing pretty well. This video was taken last week. Listen to the bell called "Kaisergloeckerl" at the end of the video. For about 250 years (!), that sonorous bell has been rung by hand to announce the closing time of the zoo and also to herald the arrival of the Emperor and the archdukes in former times.
Zoo Vienna announced today panda baby #2, who is one month old now, is a boy! Fu Long has got a little brother.
Panda cub Fu Hu Fu Long's little brother, Vienna's panda cub #2, will be called Fu Hu (= "Happy Tiger"). The naming ceremony will take place on Dec 13, 2010. Mommie Yang Yang, Daddy Long Hui and Yang Yang with baby boy Fu Hu, 12 weeks old, video taken Nov 15+18, 2010:
