Fu Hu, the second giant panda cub born in Vienna Zoo, Austria, has been returned to China, and arrived safely in Bifengxia Panda Base on 8 November 2012. He is now in quarantine but where?

I thought he would be in the same area where his big brother Fu Long spent his quarantine in late 2007 – a pre-fabricated “green house” somewhere behind the Research Centre grounds. Three other overseas-returned giant pandas had also spent their quarantine in the same area – Tai Shan in February 2010, and Su Lin and Zhen Zhen in September 2010. But photos by Jeroen Jacobs of the Giant Panda Zoo web site showed Fu Hu’s transport carrier at the entrance of the Research Centre building.

With thanks to Jeroen Jacobs of Giant Panda Zoo web site for permission to use this photo

A query to Jeroen confirmed that Fu Hu will be spending his quarantine time inside this building. But where, exactly?

Apart from the research centre, the building also houses the animal hospital, rooms on the top floor for keepers on 24-hour watch during the birthing season at the breeding centre nearby, as well as two rooms with outdoor yards. Fu Hu is in one of these two rooms, but which one exactly?

A video of Fu Hu’s arrival in Bifengxia shows him inside the room.

Screencap from this video

From the position of the connecting door to the yard, this is the room next to the entrance to the hospital.

This is the same room where Yong Ba was living after she was returned from Shenzhen. I saw her here during my September 2011 visit.

Yong Ba coming into her room during my September 2011 visit. She passed away about 10 weeks later.

Another occupant was Wu Gang who was living here when I saw him during my August 2008 visit.

Another occupant of Fu Hu’s current room, Wu Gang lived there when I volunteered in August 2008. I think he was one of the first occupants as pandas were still being moved from Old Wolong after the 12 May earthquake that year.

The previous occupant before Fu Hu moved in is now in New Wolong in Gengda Town.

So now we know Fu Hu’s exact location in Bifengxia Panda Base.

Su Su, born approximately in 1983 and captured in Mabian on 16 May 1986, now lives in Chengdu Zoo, Chengdu, China, where she is well-cared for. She is blind in one eye.

From a distance …

Closer …

Closer still …

Closest I can get from the glass window with my 24X zoom Panasonic Lumxi FZ-100

Thanks to Leo uu for letting me know where Su Su is living. I braved Chengdu’s massive traffic jams and roadworks to visit her this morning on the last day of my current trip to China.