Panda News from around the world
  • Yong Ba Passes Away

    I am very sad to report that Yong Ba has passed away at 11am on the 4th December.

    Yong Ba is thought to of been born in 1983, She has given birth to 11 Cubs with 10 of them surviving include one of my "little girls" Jin Zhu who I looked after briefly in 2008.

    She was captured on 26th September 1992 in Baoxing and has travelled around China to different zoos and parks.
  • The Edinburgh Pandas Have Been Confirmed.

    I have just received an official notification from the Edinburgh Zoo, stating that Tian Tian and Yuan Guang will be arriving this Sunday, 4th December 2011.

    Press Release:-

    NEWS RELEASE

    The Pandas Are Coming!

    UK Arrival Date for Giant Pandas Officially Confirmed
    as Sunday 4 December

    Following months of global anticipation and excitement, the arrival date for Scotland’s first pair of breeding giant pandas has been confirmed as Sunday 4 December.
  • Edinburgh Pandas Get Their Own Tartan

    Yang Guan and Tian Tian the two pandas who will be arriving at Edinburgh Zoo any time now, have been given their own Scottish Tartan.

    The Scottish tartan goes back hundreds of years as a way of identify members of a clan. The new panda Tartan is primarily made up of black and white the colours of the panda with some gray to soften it, there is also red which symbolizes China, and green to represent bamboo the pandas main food source.
  • My Adopted Son An Di

    A good panda friend of mine Chet Chin, recently visited, Bifeng Xia and asked the keepers there to point out Mei Qing's Son to her, then moved him slightly from the rest of the group and she took some photos of him. I thought you might want to see how he's grown.

    Many thanks to Chet for thinking of me and going to the trouble of taking a photo of him.
  • Photos of my Adopted Panda Son

    I've received some new photos of my adopted son 'An Di'.

    He's almost 11 months old and is getting quite big now.
  • Two More Cubs For Wolong Wild Training Centre

    Xi Xi or Qian Qian has given birth to twins at the wild training base in Sichuan, China.

    Xi Xi was born in 1998, and is a 'hero' mother with these cubs bringing the total to 6.

    The first cub was born at 6:55 in the morning and the second was born at 8:04. The staff removed a female cub, as Giant Panda mothers do not usually bring up 2 cubs in the wild and she would of likely of been left to die.
  • Wild Pandas Still In Danger of Starvation

    It is almost three years since the devastating earthquake hit China on May 12th 2008. Soon afterwards was the rainy season which caused massive mudslides, covering large areas of bamboo in think layers of mud. In some places these bamboo forest are still to recover.

    The effect of this means that our favourite animal is having a hard time in the wild, this was brought to light in April when two wild pandas were rescued with extreme starvation, and without the help of the villagers who raised the alarm and the quick response of experts from Bifeng Xia would surely of died.
  • Alison MacLean Meets Her New Charges.

    Alison MacLean and two other keepers from Edinburgh Zoo have made their first visit to China to receive training on looking after Giant Pandas.

    She said: “It’s a real honour. I’m extremely excited to be working so closely with these precious bears.”

    "The training is very similar to how we work with the bears currently at Edinburgh Zoo and I find it essential in caring for such animals. It enables us to work closely and safely with the bears and means we can spot any physical changes quickly."
  • A Video of my Adopted Son An di

    One of my Panda friends (Annette Yuen) visited BFX recently and took some photos and video of my adopted son for me. She's allowed me to share the video with you, he's so adorable I'm a proud Panda Father.
  • The 2010 Bifengxia Giant Panda Cubs

    On the 19th November 2010 the CCRCGP at Bifengxia hold a double ceremony to show the 16 Giant Panda cubs born there in 2010 and the re-opening of old Leopard Mountain which is now to be known as the panda returnees paradise park.

    The new park contains a set of 3 pens containing 7 villas which can accommodate more than 10 sub-adults. This is where Zhen Zhen and Sulin were moved to as mentioned in a previous post.

    When I was there, there was only 2 pens, so I'm assuming that another one has been built. I will try to get some more information about this.
  • Giant Pandas Zhen Zhen and Su Lin Move Home

    Returnees Zhen Zhen and Su Lin born at San Diego Zoo, America have moved homes, they are now at Leopard Mountain at Bifengxia Panda Research Centre.

    They share the area with Fu Long, Mei Sheng and of course Tai Shan. It's a beautiful area of the base, I spent 3 weeks there when I volunteered.
  • New Cubs for You You at BFX

    The other panda I looked after whilst volunteering at BFX back in 2008 has given birth to twins.

    You You was born on 3rd August 1998 to Ying Ying and Lin Nan, both wild born pandas.

    To date You You has had seven cubs with all but a cub in 2007 surviving.

    Well done to You You and all the staff at BFX.
  • Giant Panda Hua Mei Gives Birth to a Male Cub

    Early in the morning of September 17th 2010, Giant Panda Hua Mei gives birth to a 161.6g male cub.

    Hua Mei was born in San Diego Zoo on August 21st 1999, and was sent to China On March 13th 2004. She has so ofar given birth to 8 Giant Panda cubs from 5 preferences.

    So well done Hua Mei , and all staff at Bifengxia.
  • Giant Panda Ye Ye Gives Birth at Bifengxia

    The Giant Panda cubs are starting to come again. This time eleven year old Ye Ye, who gave birth on the 9th September 2010.

    This brings the total to 27 Giant Panda Cubs with only single death of a cub. (Which is still too many)

    So well done to Ye Ye and all the staff at BFX Ya'an
  • Mei Qing at Bifengxia Gives Birth

    I recently posted about Ge Ge giving birth, one of the pandas I used to see everyday that I volunteered at Bifengxia. Now one of the pandas I looked after has given birth, Mei Qing.

    Mei Qing was born in 2002. When I volunteered at BFX, the two pandas I was assigned to was You You and Jin Zhu, within a couple of days Jin Zhu was transferred to the maternity enclosures as it was thought she was pregnant. (She didn't give birth that year). She was replaced by Mei Qing, who quickly became a favourite.

    Late on the 14th of August 2010 she gave birth to a male cub.
  • Beijing's Ji Ni Gives Birth

    In march 2010 Seventeen year old Ji Ni (Jeanie) was transferred to Bifengxia from Beijing to take part in the breeding programme. Five months later she gave birth to a female cub weighing 103g.

    This is Ji Ni's second cub, she gave birth to Qing Qing in 2007 after the longest pregnancy on record of 324 days.
  • Ge Ge "Princess" has her First Cub

    If you've been following this site for a while you may remember that I visited Bifengxia (BFX) for three weeks in Septemeber 2008, (Was it so long ago?) I looked after "You You" and "Mei Qing" but in the next enclosure was Ge Ge, A really charming and fun panda, who's photo I took a lot of.

    So it's with a happy heart that I announce that Ge Ge has had her first cub.
  • Updated on the Panda Cub From Beijing

    The first surviving cub of 2010 is almost a month old. I have a couple of photos from China Panda I thought you might like to see the progress she's making.
  • Cubs for Shui Xiu and Cao Cao

    On the 1st of August 2010 Shui Xiu gave birth to twins at Bifengxia. Shui Xiu was injured in the wild and lost a front paw. She was captured in 2008 and sent to Wolong where she was nursed back to health. She has now given birth to her first cubs in captivity.

    Cao Cao one of the four pandas that have returned to Wolong to their semi wild training area gave birth to a panda cub in the morning of August 1st. Staff are watching the mum and cub closely but are interfering with the bringing up of the cub, as it is hoped that the cub might be returned to the wild in the future.
  • Fei Fei Gives Birth to Cub

    Fifteen year old Giant Panda Fei Fei give birth to a cub in the early hours of 30th July 2010.

    This cub is the 6th for Fei Fei. She has a strong maternal instinct with her cubs after birth, and maintains the best position for keeping it warm and to be able to feed.

    Congratulations once again to everyone at Bifengxia.