Zhen Zhen is now 5 1/2 years old, and our latest news from China indicates that she is doing very well! The third cub of Bai Yun and Gao, we’ve just learned that she was the first female to come into estrous this year in BiFengXia, and that she bred with two males, Lu Lu and Yuan Yuan. Zhen Zhen and her big sister, Su Lin, moved to China in September 2010 to be a part of the panda breeding program there.
While we can’t tell at this point whether or not these breeding encounters were successful (i.e., will result in a pregnancy), all reports suggest that her behavior was perfect. We are hopeful that she’ll have cubs later this summer, and we’ll keep you posted! Congratulations to Zhen Zhen!
"A Tree for Panda Yun Zi" by Jennifer Becerra, San Diego Zoo Blog 2/15/2013
It’s official! We are going to start building Yun Zi’s artificial tree very soon! We have talked to our wonderful contractors and have decided on its design and placement. It is going to look like a large bonsai tree and will be around 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall. We are very excited and thankful for the donations from all the panda fans that went into this! Our Horticulture Team added a new Chinese elm tree in Yun Zi’s exhibit as well on Thursday, February 14.
We will be taking down Yun Zi’s current climbing structure to make room for the 6-foot (1.8 meter) base of the artificial tree. The tree will take approximately four weeks to build on site (yes, it will be built in the exhibit!) as long as weather conditions are ideal (no rain). As a keeper, I really enjoy exhibit renovations, and to help design something like this tree is amazing. I am really excited to see how all the pandas will enjoy it and use it (as you know, we sometimes rotate the pandas into different exhibit areas).
There is a lot of preparation that is being done to Yun Zi’s exhibit currently, so please be patient with us and understand that he will have to be off exhibit during this entire process. Gao Gao will remain on exhibit as long as he seems comfortable during the building phase of the tree (Gao Gao’s exhibit is right next to Yun Zi’s). Yun Zi will be in the indoor bedrooms close to his keepers, and during the day he will have access to the outdoor habitat next to Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu’s north exhibit. When you are visiting Mom and cub, look up in the trees and you might see Yun Zi!
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