Finding My Way

The other day I went to get a blood test, and went to the wrong place. They were actually demolishing the building as I arrived, so they had definitely changed their address. The foreman told me I had to go to the Casa della Salute, and sent me across town. It was the first hot day, and I was late for my appointment and extremely flustered. As I dashed through the old city streets like a flustered rat in a maze, I came upon this sign, "Via della Cerca", "Road of the Search". So I went down that road. & you know what? It took me where I needed to go. 

NB new favourite facemask created by Lior from a t-shirt I got at the Memphis Zoo when I visited the lovely Peggy Kaplan z"l many years ago. Peace, Love & Pandas!

So Long and Thanks for all the Bamboo

ravaj with Yuricita & Bai Yun a while back

News travels slowly. Checking in on my PandaCam link at the San Diego Zoo I found this message from at least 6 months ago:

"In honouring the terms of our conservation loan agreement with People's Republic of China, 27-year-old Bai Yun and her son, 6-year-old Xiao Liwu, have been repatriated to their ancestral homeland. We are now working with colleagues in China to determine and redefine the future of panda conservation and research."

Loved visiting Bai Yun. Hope she's doing well back in China!

I Love Panda Bears

If there is one thing in the world guaranteed to make me feel calm, and peaceful, and better, it is being in the presence of a panda bear. A Native American friend once told me that the panda is surely my spirit guide. Since it's hard to hang out with live pandas in Finchley, here are some alternatives that are quite helpful:

1. The San Diego Zoo PandaCam  LINK

ok there's an 8 hour time difference and sometimes the pandas are behind a tree or somewhere else, but so far it's the best way to get a live fix when necessary

There are also PandaCams in Edinburgh, Atlanta, & Memphis.

2. Cute videos, e.g.,

Baby pandas team up to resist taking their meds here.

3.  Wildlife Documentaries

(this is a clip from the David Attenborough film where the panda does a handstand)

Perhaps one day I will experience a moment of joy as I hold a small panda in my arms, like the lucky lucky film-maker gets to at the end of this clip

Panda Update from ITN

A panda needs a pillow, and sundries

The Bifengxia Panda Breeding Centre in Sichuan

6 pandas rescued from the earthquake at their original home are reunited with others at the panda centre in Sichuan. At last a chance to relax. Hurrah.

unity pandas

pandas on the move! having survived the earthquake in wolong, they have now arrived at their new home in taiwan. the telegraph's richard spencer reports:

"TuanTuan and YuanYuan, whose names when put together mean "Reunion", landed at Taoyuan Airport near the island's capital Taipei. It was the end of a long day, which began with tearful celebrations in Sichuan, their home and home of most of the world's surviving giant pandas. They were given a last breakfast of corn buns and carrots in the city of Ya'an, where they were taken after surviving the May earthquake which destroyed their birth-place, the world-famous Wolong breeding centre. As they were loaded on to a truck for the road trip to Chengdu airport, they were seen off by a party of dancing schoolchildren dressed in panda suits.

They were guarded by 500 security officers and armed police strung out along the route, along with 20 animal experts and their own two keepers. There were more dances at the airport, from the local Qiang minority group who occupy the mountains that are their natural habitat, followed by speeches. "TuanTuan and YuanYuan will sow the seeds of peace, solidarity and friendship on Taiwan's soil," Zheng Lizhong, deputy director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office said.

The pair were offered three years ago as a goodwill gesture by China, after its anti-secession law which set in stone the national policy of using force to prevent any Taiwan declaration of independence raised tensions across the Straits. They were initially rejected by the then Taiwan president, Chen Shui-bian, who favours moving towards independence. But that decision was reversed by his successor, Ma Ying-jeou, who won election in March on a platform of improving ties with the mainland, which claims historic sovereignty over the island.

Upon arrival at the end of their three-hour journey to Taipei - made easier by the resumption this year of direct flights - they were taken away by keepers for a month-long period of quarantine, before they go on show at a specially constructed 6.5 million pound enclosure at Taipei Zoo.

Their journey was welcomed by the city government. "TuanTuan and YuanYuan are finally setting off for the historic trip to Taiwan," said Yang Hsiao-tung, a spokesman. "This symbolises another major step forward in pragmatic cross-strait exchanges." But Mr Ma’s acceptance of the pandas was attacked in pro-independence newspapers as showing he accepted Taiwan’s “vassal status” to China."

first the banks, then the pandas

a story from the independent newspaper last week - the prime minister of great britain, gordon brown, has lent his support to the attempts of the edinburgh zoo to borrow a pair of pandas from china:

"Not content with saving the world's banking system, Gordon Brown yesterday turned his attention to giant pandas. He gave his backing to attempts by Edinburgh Zoo to bring two of the endangered animals from China to a new Scottish home. If the zoo's project is successful, they will be the first pandas in Britain since 1994. In a letter to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which hopes to get the pandas on loan from China in 2010, the Prime Minister said the Government "strongly supports" international co-operation to promote the conservation of wildlife. The society announced its proposal to include a pair of breeding pandas in its animal collection at Edinburgh Zoo in May. It has been proposed they would be on loan for 10 years, in which time, it is hoped, they will have cubs. Zoo representatives have visited China to establish a closer relationship with its officials in the field of conservation and research. A "letter of intent" has been signed by both parties, signifying a commitment to bring pandas to the Scottish capital. If successful, Edinburgh would be only the eighth zoo in the West to care for a species which has become a symbol of endangered wildlife. However, negotiations with the Chinese are sensitive. In the past, pandas were given or loaned to Western zoos, including London, with the aim of opening up relations between China and the West, in so-called "panda diplomacy".

In Mr Brown's letter to David Windmill, the chief executive of the society, he said: "The Government strongly supports international co-operation to promote the conservation of the world's wildlife. We therefore welcome the progress which the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has made in its discussions with the Chinese authorities and wish you continuing success in bringing these discussions to a satisfactory conclusion." Mr Windmill said yesterday: "The process of bringing giant pandas to Scotland is a long and detailed one that requires political co-operation at the highest level, so having the support of our Prime Minister is essential."

London Zoo has kept several pandas from 1938 onwards. Some of the animals became famous as a result of exposure on television – the first was Chi-Chi, who was acquired in 1958 for the then enormous sum of £12,000. Attempts to mate her with the only other giant panda outside China, An-An from Moscow Zoo, attracted international interest and ensured her fame. In 1974, "Ted Heath's Pandas" – Chia-Chia (a male) and Ching-Ching (a female) – were presented to the British people by the Chinese government on the occasion of the then prime minister Edward Heath's visit to China. London Zoo kept two more animals, Bao Bao and Ming Ming, in the early 1990s but there have been no giant pandas in British zoos since."

chi-chi was the first giant panda that won my heart. i still hesitate to enter the natural history museum since they stuffed her and posed her there. apparently she was originally destined for the united states, but was branded communist goods and not allowed into the country, so she ended up in london. i am a bit confused by the last part of the article - i thought that bao bao was from berlin, and came over to mate with ming ming but their foreplay turned a bit rough and he injured her and was sent home. there were a couple of pandas there in the late '80's i think that i got to feed during a photo op for qpr.

anyway, pandas. in britain. wow. i can hardly wait :-)

together at last

two of the great loves of my life - a panda (ok it is po from kung fu panda, but here he is representing the pandas of the world) and angelina jolie. *sigh*

papier mache pandas take over paris

the associated foreign press reports:

"Paris city hall was swamped by 1,600 papier mache pandas on Thursday, part of a WWF campaign to highlight the urgent need to protect the vanishing species. According to the environmentalist group, which uses the bear as its logo, there are only 1,600 giant pandas left worldwide, making it one of the most striking examples of biodiversity in danger. "Through this symbol we want to show our attachment to the whole of the living world," said Serge Orru, head of WWF France. "Of course, the panda is the most touching, the most tender. But worms are just as important as pandas."

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), one in four mammals, one in eight birds, a third of all amphibians and 70 percent of plants are under threat from global warming, deforestation and pollution. The hand-painted Paris pandas, around 40 centimetres (one and a half feet) tall, are to travel around the capital's monuments in the coming weeks before setting off for sites across France."

i do have to agree - WORMS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS PANDAS - and don't you forget it.

after wolong

what next for the pandas rescued from the wolong conservation centre after the earthquake? nobody knows yet, but at least they are safe and cared for.

happy first birthday zhen zhen

the san diego zoo's latest panda bear cub, daughter of bai yun and gao gao, has her first birthday today. you go zhen zhen!

panda lows and highs

jane macartney reported in the times a couple of weeks ago that 90% of pandas are in jeopardy after the earthquake in china:

"Nearly all of China’s endangered pandas are in jeopardy after the earthquake last month devastated the remote mountain corner that is their last remaining habitat. Already boxed into these steep and thickly forested hillsides by the advance of Man, its numbers limited by a slow rate of reproduction and with its food supply threatened by the scarcity of its favourite arrow bamboo, the panda is now facing its most severe crisis in decades. Chinese officials, usually reluctant to reveal the real extent of a crisis, have announced that the last 1,590 pandas living in the wild face a very uncertain future after the earthquake. Yan Xun, an official at the State Forestry Administration, said: “Their living environment is completely destroyed. Massive landslides and large-scale damage to forests triggered by last month’s earthquake are threatening the existence of wild pandas.”

The fate of the pandas has been a cause of concern since the May 12 earthquake, which cut off access to large swaths of mountainous areas, including China’s largest panda breeding centre in Wolong. One giant panda from the reserve was buried this week after its body was found crushed under the walls of its pen. Another is missing. The other 51 are safe, including 14 cubs that were carried out of the reserve by keepers. The fate of the 1,400 pandas living in the quake-hit regions – about 88 per cent of the total – remains unknown and a source of growing anxiety. The tremor damaged 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres), 83 per cent of China’s total panda habitat. The real extent of the damage could be even worse because landslides have blocked roads, preventing officials from assessing some areas. Mr Yan said: “Caves and tree hollows where giant pandas live may be damaged, water in the habitat is polluted, and some of the bamboo is buried or smashed.” He said it was almost certain that the earthquake had claimed more pandas among its victims. “There must have been wild pandas crushed to death during the quake and in the aftershocks. But we do not have the number.” It was still far too dangerous for researchers to venture into these remote mountain areas to try to assess the ravages on a population that had grown in recent years.

Of the 55 protected reserves where wild pandas roam, 49 have been affected by the earthquake. Landslides have toppled whole mountainsides, possibly burying many of the animals. Zhang Zhihe, head of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, the headquarters of China’s hugely successful campaign to save the panda through artificial insemination, said that he was also anxious that the devastation of the mountain terrain could deprive the wild panda of access to bamboo. He told The Times: “The pandas now cannot make their way between different mountains because of the landslides and so they may not be able to find food.” It has taken China years to create these reserves, linked by corridors along which the pandas can move with the minimum of encroachment by man. Now these corridors will almost certainly have to be recreated. Mr Zhang said: “As a wild animal, the panda has the capacity to survive in the short term. But the danger lies in its longer-term survival with the damage to the ecology.”"

on a positive note, tai shan just turned 3 years old at the national zoo in washington d.c.

lunchbreak at the building site

... or pandas rescued from the wolong reserve take time out for a bit of a snack. guess who has been checking out the bbc pictures of the day?!

pics of panda rescue

some of the devastation near the wolong reserve
the pandas were terrified and had to be coaxed down
most of them were saved - only 3 reported missing

pandas can anticipate earthquakes?

the ny times reported yesterday that the pandas in the wolong nature reserve in chengdu "were agitated and pacing" just before the earthquake. so far it would appear that while the human toll is utterly horrific - over 50,000 deaths currently estimated - no dead pandas have been found. the story of the escape of both humans and pandas is recorded in the article. *sigh*

teaching pandas to procreate

poor pandas. not only are their caretakers trying to encourage more mating by showing them panda "porn", i.e., videos of other pandas doing it; but now they are being given special exercise lessons to develop their pelvic and hip muscles! an apple is dangled from a string just out of their reach, so they stand on their hind legs as they try to get it. at least they are allowed to eat the fruit once the exercise is over.

i understand the desire to increase the panda population of the world. i just wish the task were easier! for the rest of the report in the times, look here.

fu long video

moving baby panda - even cuter than still one. this video is for dr. zohar :-)

welcome fu long!

lucky dragon ventures out of the cage
after several weeks of shyness, fu long, the first panda cub born in europe for 25 years, has finally appeared out-of-doors at his home in the vienna zoo. *sigh* - adorrrrrrable! excuse me while i nip off to get another shot of insulin. here's another pic to enjoy while i am gone:

what have i done to deserve this?

a rather depressed baby panda sits it out while being ogled by the masses.

migrating and emigrating pandas

the associated press reports that pandas in southwestern china are being forced to move as the bamboo that they eat is in its regenerative phase and thus there are massive food shortages. henry sanderson writes:

"Most of the pandas' favorite arrow bamboo in a 217,000 square-mile region of Sichuan province is going through a once-in-60-year cycle of flowering and dying before regenerating, said Yang Xuyu, deputy head of the province's Wild Animal Preservation Station. The pandas are moving to other areas of Sichuan, which has about 40 reserves of various sizes. "No wild panda has been found dead of starvation," said Yang. But more than 80 percent of bamboo in the affected region, called Ruoergai, is now unfit for the animals to eat, he said. Pandas will not touch the plant once it flowers.

About 1,200 pandas — 80 percent of the surviving wild population in China — live in several mountainous areas of Sichuan. Hundreds of pandas died of starvation in Sichuan in the 1980s when arrow bamboo in some reserves flowered and then died. Pandas derive most of their nutrition from arrow bamboo and can starve once the plant enters its dying-off stage. The bamboo produces seeds before dying, and takes 10 to 20 years to grow back. Yang told a conference on panda survival in Chengdu, Sichuan, on Sunday that a shrinking habitat due to farming and industrial development makes it increasingly hard for the animals in the wild to find food during the bamboo life cycle, according to the Xinhua news agency. China's forestry bureau is carrying out a panda rescue drive and working with the World Wildlife Fund to try to restore panda migration paths, Xinhua said."

on a more positive note, mei sheng (which translates as "born in the usa"), arrives safely at the wolong nature reserve in china. mei sheng was born in the san diego zoo, and returns as part of the agreement with china that allowed his parents to go to san diego in the first place.