Posted on 15 October 2007 @ 23:17 in Stress Busters
My sister rolled her eyes when I told her that, while in Guangzhou, I’d also gone to the Panyu Safari World to “see” pandas. Well, not any panda, but a particular panda. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if it was that particular panda or just one with the same name.
It was NekoMama7 who’d mentioned there was a panda at Panyu Safari World by the name of Dong Dong who’d originally come from Wolong. The only Dong Dong panda we’ve heard of is the mother of Bai Yun at the San Diego Zoo. Since I was already going to be in Guangzhou, it wouldn’t be too much out of my way to go to Panyu to see if the Dong Dong there is Bai Yun’s mother.
You can say my trip to Panyu Safari World was done on speculation, but in the end, I was well-rewarded for it. The trip not only confirmed that it was the one and the same Dong Dong but also introduced me to the other four giant panda residents of the Giant Panda Garden inside the China Treasure Zone at Panyu Safari World.
Before NekoMama7’s note, I’d never heard of Panyu Safari World, or its giant panda exhibit. I thought Dong Dong was the only giant panda resident there, much like Shi Shi at Guangzhou Zoo. So it was a very pleasant surprise to learn that Panyu is home to five giant pandas, comprising two panda elders who’d been gifts from China, and three younger ones on loan from China.
At 23, Dong Dong is one of the two panda elders at Panyu.
The bio poster next to her enclosure indicated that she was probably Bai Yun’s mother, and this was confirmed by a chat with the interpreter on duty.
Ming Ming, the other panda elder at Panyu, is 30 and a male.
Of the three younger pandas – Yang-Guan (male), Xin Yue (female) and Na Na (female), all aged 4 and sharing an “apartment” – two are half-siblings, having been sired by that stud daddy from Wolong, Pan Pan, who’d also fathered Bai Yun with Dong Dong, which makes Dong Dong the stepmother to these two half-siblings. What a small world of giant pandas!
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Posted on 25 September 2007 @ 14:56 in Stress Busters
There were three reasons I went to Wolong recently.
The first was to see my adopted panda cub, Yoong Ping. That I did. And touched her and tried to get her to stay still for some pictures.
The second was to participate in the volunteer programme at Wolong. That I did. Where I got to scoop panda poop, among other tasks. Panda poop, due to the high content of bamboo in the diet, is solid and hard. Unless the panda had less than the usual amount of bamboo, in which case the poop is more … er, mushy.
The third was to try and see Hua Mei, the first panda cub who ignited my love for giant pandas when I first saw her at age 6 months back in the year 2000. Under the San Diego Zoo’s panda loan agreement with China – which states that all panda cubs born to adult pandas on loan from China belong to the mother country and must return after they turn 2 – Hua Mei had returned to Wolong in 2003, about 2 years late due to the SARS epidemic a year earlier. I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see her this trip as she’d recently given birth. But I not only got to see her, but also her newborns, too.
So I fulfilled all my three reasons for visiting Wolong, and more.
I’d heard that Hua Mei’s father, Shi Shi, who had been returned to Wolong in 2002, was now in Guangzhou Zoo. I’d seen him during my San Diego Zoo trip in 2001, and wanted to see him again, especially as there were recent rumours that he’d died. Well, he’s still alive, altho completely blind. But in the care of keepers who I could tell, from chatting with them, love him very much.
I was told Panyu Safari World near Guangzhou Zoo has a panda exhibit. One of the pandas there was called Dong Dong and had originally been from Wolong. NekoMama7 wondered if this is the same Dong Dong who is Hua Mei’s maternal grandmother. Since I would be in Guangzhou, I made plans to go to the Safari World. There, I confirmed with one of the interpreters that their Dong Dong is a grandmother whose granddaughter Hua Mei is in Wolong.
In Wolong itself, I discovered more family connections for Hua Mei and also among the other pandas. Ling Ling, one of the pandas I helped care for during my volunteer time there, had fathered her first set of twins back in 2004.
Increasingly, I find panda family connections important and interesting. Wolong had a stud panda papa by the name of Pan Pan who fathered many of the younger pandas in Wolong, including Bai Yun, Hua Mei’s mother, now in San Diego Zoo and Tian Tian, Tai Shan’s father, now at the National Zoo. At Panyu Safari World’s panda exhibit, the three younger pandas include 2 fathered by Pan Pan. Even my panda daughter, Yoong Ping, may have been fathered by Pan Pan; when I asked Dr Wang, he said the father was either Pan Pan or Da Di. Pan Pan is now retired to Bifenxia, a Wolong affiliated reserve.
With so many pandas fathered by the same papa, at some point, there would be a danger of in-breeding. This is why Hua Mei’s return was important to Wolong; her father, Shi Shi, was a wild panda wounded in a fight and rescued in the early 1990s. Her other siblings – Mei Sheng, Su Lin and the newborn – will also be important to Wolong’s breeding efforts, thanks to the wild genes provided by Daddy Gao Gao.
From a mere delight in the cuteness of giant pandas, my interest in them has grown over the years to include what some might call panda genealogy. Whatever the name, this will be one area I hope to track from now on.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Zoo is getting Mei Sheng ready for his return to Wolong next month.
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Posted on 5 December 2004 @ 22:00 in Friends
Marita Paige from Kuching is in KL for a few days. Also from Kuching is Superkumquat who is working in KL. We met up for lunch today which was also graced by graceshu. Nice meeting all three of you gals!
Lunch was at Vietnam Kitchen One Utama. Both Marita and graceshu took some pictures of the food, which they’ll be posting at their blogs soon, graceshu before Marita who has to wait till she returns to Kuching before she can update her blog.
I’d promised to bring Dana along to show Marita, which I did, and here’s what happened:
Resized from Dana’s original 560 width to 450 width
Then she started a story, which graceshu and Superkumquat continued for a while:
Resized from Dana’s original 560 width to 450 width
Who wrote what:
Once upon a time there was a belle from the jungle (Marita Paige).
Everyone called her Jungle Belle. She likes bells too. They went ding dong ding dong and it makes her happpy. (My name is graceshu.)
Jungle Belle likes balls too and she does very bad things with them. Her favourite thing to do is de-balling. I’m glad she’s not doing any of that right now (Superkumquat).
One day Jungle Belle decided to leave her jungle home and travelled to the metropolis of Big Durian. There she met up with her three friends, the Dana Wonder Woman, Grrrrrrrrr, and Phhhhhhrrrrroooooot. (Marita Paige)
I just sat there and watched them (especially Marita) falling for the Dana.
Marita: Remember you’re getting the Dana next time you’re in KL. On loan, of course.
By the way, the food was excellent at Vietnam Kitchen. What was the word Superkumquat used? Consistent.
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