WEBVTT - Giant Panda Update 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.560 Ruby. 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:11.280 Hi, I'm Rich Swartz. 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:12.399 What is this world? 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:15.400 A Marco went and this this is Amazing Wildlife where 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:17.599 we explore stories of wildlife from around the world and 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.919 uncovered fascinating animal facts. This podcast is brought to you 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:24.400 in partnership with iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio and San Diego Zoo 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:28.760 Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization which oversees this 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:30.200 beautiful place, the San Diego. 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:31.320 Zoo and the Safari Park. 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:35.080 What a lovely little spot we're at, right. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.479 We are, we are, and it's perfect, I think for 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:39.320 this topic because they're. 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:40.960 Just down the way from us. I'm pretty sure. 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.400 Are you referring to a large black and white mammals? 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:45.960 Yeah, they are a bear. 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:48.280 Wait, I can. 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:53.360 Like you said, we're at the San Diego Zo We're 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:55.440 right below one of my favorite spots for a canyon. 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:57.880 Back the way, we got tom I right there is 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.240 Andy and bear to our left we got sun bear 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.840 going on, really unique type of mammal, some of my favorites. 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.679 But to your point, we're talking about the giant pandas. 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.640 Right we are, we are getting an update if you will, 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.679 because about this time, almost this time last year when 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.720 this episode comes out. We were announcing Pantas were on 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:16.360 the way. We're getting ready to show them. 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:18.200 That Panda Ridge was being redone. 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:20.399 So much activity and such a short amount of time 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.880 to get everything ready for these two awesome bears. 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:24.640 Oh, I know, And we actually we're talking before like 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.280 maybe about a month from when this episode drops. 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.120 It's going to be officially California. 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:33.360 Panaday August eighth, August eight, that was declared basically when 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:36.680 we opened Panda Ridge, officially that that was California Panaday 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.720 August eighth, and the very first anniversary of that is 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:41.920 coming up. So yeah, we want people to know it's 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:43.720 a very special day. We're gonna do some really cool 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:46.120 things for it. So keep listening and watching to find 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:48.120 out what's going on. Check out the Zoos social media. 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.040 They'll be posting a lot about it as well. But 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:52.440 I think really people are listening right now not to 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.880 hear about what we're doing for Panaday. They want to 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:58.280 about the giant pandas. 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:00.240 Yeah, it's been a little bit right, friend, and so 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:02.360 I think we need to update everyone, including you and 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:03.120 I what's going. 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.279 On with Panda. Well, then let's ask Jessica our guests. 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.040 Good morning, guys. Yeah, thank you for having me. 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.440 Thank you for hanging out with us, maybe to share 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:12.600 all these interesting things we love. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.480 Talking about pandas, Like I spent all day talking about. 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.720 Oh, we don't have all day. We will fill as 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:20.239 much time as we need to. First of all, Jessica, 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.040 introduce yourself to our audience. What exactly is your title? 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:24.440 What do you do here at the San Diego Zoo? 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.160 And no, why do you know so much about pandama? 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:28.400 Yeah, my name is Jessica. I'm a senior wildlife care 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:30.640 specialist here at the San Diego Zoo. I've been with 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:33.200 the San Diego Zoo for about six and a half 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.600 years now. I have been working with the giant pandas 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:38.560 since before they came. So I got to go to 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:41.840 China and start working with Yunschwan and Singbao while they 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:43.720 were still in China, I got to work with their 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:46.680 care specialists there, start to teach them a few commands 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.840 in English, a few words in English, learn their personalities, 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:53.360 and then that helped have a really smooth transition for 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.480 them to come over here. So they had the same 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.639 care team. They already knew my face, my voice. 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.960 Yeah, you're sent Yeah, yeah, exactly. 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.120 So then when they came here, I continue to work 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:06.799 with the giant panda, so I've been working with them 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:08.880 for over a year now. 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:10.240 Wow, that's cool. 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.000 I'm glad he talked about going to China and working 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.800 with the team there because in the previous PAN episode 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:17.760 it was with Nicky Boy, can you remember, right, she 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:19.840 was mentioning a lot of that as well, and she 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.280 and I, all of us here are very behavior oriented people, 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:24.880 you know, So I was really stoked that you brought 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:26.600 that up because it's definitely something I want to ask 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.600 you sort of update to some of the behaviors that 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:30.960 Nikki was saying prior that you guys have been working on. 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.000 But I think though, guys, you know, before we get started, 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.200 because maybe people forgot, like, who are the two giant 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:36.920 pans we have here at Panda Ridge at the zoo? 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:38.400 Can you talk about it? 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:42.520 We have two wonderful giant pandas obviously that we brought 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:44.320 a male and a female. So we have Yun Schwan. 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.800 He's our male. Almost his birthday, he's about to turn six. 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.040 Oh yeah, oh so he's a five year old male. 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.160 And then Sing Bao is our female. She's going to 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:54.920 turn five soon. Giant Pandas are born around the same 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:56.800 time every year, so their birthdays, of course are around 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.560 the same time. So they're both about to turn five 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.120 and six. This will be their second celebrated birthday here 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.520 at the San Diego too. So they have settled in 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:08.400 really really well, having been here almost a year now. 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.640 They have been in both habitats. Both of them have 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.640 been in each habitat for a little bit of time, 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.080 and they really settled into San Diego. So they're loving 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:22.000 this San Diego love SOCOW lifestyle. Okay, it is very 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.840 up the alley for giant panda. They love that SOCOW lifestyle. 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.039 Okay. So I think it's fairer than share with our 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:30.520 audience because I think in general people have that Southern 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:34.080 California San Diego lifestyles, laid back, relax, you know, hanging 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.640 on the beach, just pretty chill, and you're sam, pandas 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:37.320 fit that really well? 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:37.920 Why is that? 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.440 Why do panda fit our lifestyle here in San Diego 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:40.800 so well? 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.960 Giant Pandas fit that SOCOW lifestyle really well because they 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.760 do spend most of their time just eating and sleeping. 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:51.159 So they yeah, I mean, you were laughing about it before, 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.400 you know, but we had a specific reason why, right, 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:55.359 can you hint at it? Because their carnivore But I 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:57.200 was really fascinating you were talking about there. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.520 Yeah, so giant pandas are true bears, so they do 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.960 have carnivore digestive systems. They have those canines, those sharp teeth, 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:08.039 those sharp claws, true carnivore digestive systems. But they only 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.560 eat bamboo. Of what they eat is sampoo anyway, so 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.560 they don't get a lot of nutrients out of the 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:15.839 food that they eat. So they have to consume such 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.240 a high volume of food to be able to get 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.800 enough nutrients. And then they have to sleep a lot 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:22.760 so while their body processes all that. So most of 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.440 what a giant panda does is eating and sleeping. They'll 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.640 wake up, eat until they're full, and then sleep for 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:30.520 three to four hours and do that kind of on 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:32.160 repeat for twenty four hours a day. 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.640 It's crazy, Amanda, Actually she's behind the camera right after, 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:36.520 you don't know, but she was asking prior to because 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:38.400 you know, some animals have like a hind gut kind 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:41.120 of fermentation process, you know, but it's not like that 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:43.680 for panas. You're basically saying, you know, yeah, I'm a carnivore, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:44.679 but I'm eating all this planet. 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:46.599 Yeah, man, I just got to keep on eating and 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:47.599 eating exactly. 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:50.320 So they eat tons of food every day. We feed 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.480 them more food than they could ever possibly eat. The 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:54.359 day they get a schmorcus spoored here, so they have 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:55.720 their pick of what they want. You don't want to 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:57.520 eat the same thing for every single meal, so we 0:05:57.600 --> 0:05:59.680 give them a ton of variety every single day. We 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:02.560 give close to eighty to one hundred pounds of bamboo 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.000 every single day, and then we don't all eat the 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.200 same amount of food every day either, So giant pandas 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.400 are just like that. Some days they'll eat forty pounds 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:12.920 of food. Sometimes they'll eat close to that eighty pounds 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.000 in a day, But it comes out just like it 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:20.200 goes in, so they don't really digest it. They don't 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.119 have that high bet that ruminants have to be able 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.159 to break that down and really absorb all of the 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.880 nutrients that come out of that. So they're really going 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.239 to eat as much as they can and then sleep 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.680 while their body processes as much of that as it 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:35.800 can to get as much nutrients out of it. As possible, 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.520 but they don't eat what their body is designed to 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:40.720 eat as a large carnivore. 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:42.479 Does anybody knows there been any research. 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.560 Why would a species like the panda bear, which is 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.359 the teeth of a carnivore, the digestive of the carnivore 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:52.760 go through the process of and obviously for a very 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:56.600 long time now, being such a high herbivore diet animal. 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:00.800 Yeah, it's a really good question. Actually, they have adapted 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.560 to the most readily available resource, so they have no 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:08.039 natural predators. So a giant panda has no need to 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:11.080 use all those carnivore adaptations that they have, so they 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.320 are true bear, so they have those teeth in those claws, 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:17.360 but with no natural predators, they have adapted to be 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.120 able to eat what is most readily available, which is bamboo, 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:22.280 so it's everywhere. They don't have to chase it. Their 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:25.680 food's not going to run away, so they have adapted 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.560 to be able to process bamboo and use that as 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:32.120 their natural food resource. And then because they have no 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:36.040 natural predators, they can spend that extra time sleeping so 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.680 that their body can process that. They are a solitary species, 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.240 so they do still have those carnivore adaptations to be 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.640 able to defend their territory if then when they need to, 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:46.920 but they do a really good job of avoiding that 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.200 at all costs. They would much rather not have to 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.240 use any of those adaptations. They really just yeah, they 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.840 want to save as much energy as possible, so they 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:56.560 just want to eat bamboo and sleep. So they do 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:58.720 a good job of marking their territory. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:00.520 They use to watch. 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:02.760 Yeah, they use their scent and things like that to 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:05.280 make sure that they kind of mark off their own 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:06.600 zones and they avoid each other. 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:11.240 I think it's fascinating that the digestive system hasn't really 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:15.840 changed much to work with that environment, to work with 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:17.920 what's readily available to consume the bamboo. 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:19.520 But there's other adaptations. 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.960 This is that other bears don't have, so they can 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:25.920 hold the bamboo. 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:27.680 No totally, because I called it a thumb, but then 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:28.840 you elaborated a little more. 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.400 They sort of called the pseudo thumb for a giant pan. 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.800 Yeah. So when you watch giant hand to eat, it's 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.280 the cutest thing ever. I could watch them eat all day. 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.520 So it actually looks like they're holding and gripping the bamboo, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.720 which allows them to maneuver it, to strip the coating 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:44.760 off of it, to eat the different pieces of the plant, 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:46.960 because they eat all different parts of the plant. But 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.160 it looks like a thumb that they're gripping with, but 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.600 it's actually what we call a pseudo thumb. It's an 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:55.600 elongated wristbone that acts as a opposable thumb so that 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.520 they can manipulate that bamboo in order to process and 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:01.120 man for all the different parts of it. 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:02.959 Okay, so kids, this is what you need to do. 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:06.839 Get a ruler and somehow I don't use tapecausey're really 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.080 hurt coming off, but maybe like get a shoelace to 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.400 strap the ruler to your forearm so it sticks out 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.360 past your hand a little bit and then cut your 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:15.880 hand and try and grab things, because that's really what 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.480 it is. And they don't have a thumb like we have, 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.640 so it's hand, yeah, to kind of grab and hold on. 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.400 But they've obviously done such a great job because I've 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:25.760 seen it too. 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.640 I'm like, it looks like. 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.599 They're very adept at using those adaptations. 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.800 Do you remember in our bamboo episode from last year 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.400 without him, he was saying that it's the strongest fiber 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.079 out how powerful they have to be. So that's the 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.439 other adaptation pandas have is this incredibly powerful bite and 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:43.960 we can. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:44.320 Look at it. 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:46.840 So if you're here at the zoo, look at the 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:49.280 sun bears, or near the pandas, look at the other 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.360 bears that we have. And then when you look at 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.360 the panda, you see that adorable, very round face. 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.000 But that's all that muscle tissue exactly. 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.600 In the jaw area and on the head to crush 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:04.160 that bamboo in a single bite. And that's another interesting adaptation. 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:07.280 So we have the pseudo thumb, we have the incredibly large, 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:09.480 powerful skull with all those muscles in it and the 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:12.080 teeth and jaws, and yet still the digestive system is 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.640 out of a carnivore like all these things that allows 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:16.400 them to do what they do. 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:17.640 But oh, by the way, you just have to eat 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:18.200 a bunch of sleep. 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:20.280 But it's so great to me that just the nuances 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:21.160 of bears in general. 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:23.400 You know, like Megan talked about the polar bear way 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.280 back in the day, to remember that just a real 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:27.400 set niche like over ninety percent of their diet or 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.200 ring next seals. But I just love that ability of 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:32.960 behavior being modified as well. I mean, we're talking about 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.640 these physical adaptations, but they're also behaviorally acting a little differently. 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.000 There's the asiatic black bear right, can be. 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:42.439 Found in certain regions nearby, but behaviorally very different as well. 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:44.120 But I really like that also. 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:46.800 But I'm getting sidetracked because I don't want to forget 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:49.160 to ask you because Nikki the last episode, she was 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.560 talking about some of these behaviors that you guys have 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:53.840 been working on previously for them moving here to the 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.520 San Diego Zoo. Right, she had mentioned in open mouth 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.280 behavior blood draws she mentioned, you guys are going to 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:01.280 start working recast. So I don't know if you can 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:02.679 spill the tea, but I kind of want to know 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:03.719 haw's it's been going. 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:05.200 It's been about a year now, Yeah, can. 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:06.599 You Yeah, I can let you guys in on the 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:11.200 insider information on that the behavior. Yeah, so those behaviors 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.720 that we've been developing for the last year have really solidified. 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:19.080 These guys are really intelligent bears. They learn very quickly. 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:23.240 Pandas in general are extremely intelligent bears. Bears are extremely 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.040 intelligent species. Giant pandas are no exception to that. They 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.480 make it look easy. They just you know, they chill 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.440 and relax. They're super duper smart. So we do have 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:35.640 the open mouth behavior trained. We also have a recall 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.160 trained that we have been working on. It's a really 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.000 useful behavior to train for all of our large mammals, 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.280 not just large carnivores at the San Diego Zoo. So 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:49.559 it's basically a specialized cowbell sound, so believe it or not, 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:51.800 there are many different cowbell sounds or not just one 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:52.840 cow bell sound, right. 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:54.240 And it doesn't have to be cowbell too on a 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:55.559 point out right, it could be a lot of different 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:57.839 sounds depending but you're using for. 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:02.880 These ones specifically because animals have such great hearing, very 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.800 signature noise, so another animal across the zoo is going 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.600 to be able to hear that recall sound totally, so 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.240 we want to make sure it's unique for each animal zoo. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:14.600 So there special goodies that they get to come in for. 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:20.679 Is actually Kerns guava nectar. Oh well, right, doesn't love 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:23.880 urns commercially available, but they love it. 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.160 They yummy fruit to what Yeah, but I call it 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:29.680 in Spanish, but that's super super yummy. Just in case 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.200 some of the kids that are listening to because we 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:34.160 said recall. But that's basically like a behavior if maybe 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:36.280 I don't know, maybe a branch falls in the habitat. 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:38.760 I mean once I had a Virginia possum actually going 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:40.000 to the Castlory habitat. 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:43.560 I was door. Luckily I had the recall established and 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.360 Ponto came right in. It was no big deal. 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.240 And to your point, we had to actually coordinate with 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:49.160 Tiger team across the way because I didn't want to 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.200 use the same sound as the Tiger's right. But that's 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:53.960 really great that you're established that behavior for who knows 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:55.280 what can happen out in the habit Yeah. 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.640 We've actually had to use it once because a hat 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:02.480 felons the habitat, So you know, super critical had to 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:04.040 save that hat. 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.120 I mean, when you get the right hat, I mean yeah, 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.120 And I sure they appreciated it, right, Yeah, Well. 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:09.400 I think too. 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.199 It's important as a pet owner, recalls are important, you know, 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:14.320 should there ever be an emergency situation of any sort, 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.760 drastic or not, or just a hat, to have that recall, 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:19.800 to be able to bring your animal into a safe 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:21.080 space is so important. 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:22.000 And I love. 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.640 That that's something we incorporate here. At the San Diego Zoo, 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:26.400 something that we used to do way back in my 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:28.880 first years of animal training with dog training was established 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:30.760 the recall totally. I do want to go back to 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:32.840 something though you had mentioned, and I know Niki had 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:34.920 mentioned in the previous panned episode we did last season, 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.840 the open mouth behavior. I think Nikki touched on why 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.240 that's important and why we do it, but I'd love 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.360 to hear from you. Yeah, what is it that that 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.800 is such an important thing for us to have with 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:45.880 our animals here at the Sandiego Yeah, we train. 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:49.600 A lot of behavior specifically for being able to get 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.880 close eyes and examination on our animals. So the open 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.560 mouth behavior allows us to inspect their teeth. They can't 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:56.720 see a dentist every year like we can, right, so 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.079 we can monitor their health very closely by training specific behaviors. 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:03.080 Open mouth is one of those behaviors that we train. 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.240 Other behaviors that we train our blood pressure reading, so 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.880 we do take our pandas blood pressure believe it or not, 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.480 we used to take it every single week so we 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.440 can establish a baseline for their health. So they're super 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.720 young bears, so at this point they're healthy individuals. We 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.400 can save all of that data and information so that 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.320 as they age, where if at some point they become 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.240 geriatric bears in our care, we can have that young 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:29.800 baseline blood pressure to compare to for when they're older, 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:33.240 so we can catch any health issues really early on. 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.440 Changes in blood pressure are a huge indicator of health concerns, 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.560 so we do a lot of behaviors like that that 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:41.880 allow us to monitor their health very very closely. 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:43.640 Wow, I'm care. Can you describe it? How do you 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:45.560 take the blood pressure of a hand abase? Yeah? 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.240 So it's just like a human So if you've been 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:50.600 to the doctor, had your bloodressure, take it. Almost everybody has. 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:53.400 It's not comfortable, right, It squeezes. You can feel your 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.800 heart rate in your arm, So imagine a bear doing that. 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.160 You can't explain to them why it's important for them 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.680 to hold still and get their blood pressure taken, but 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:06.400 we establish a really strong relationship through training that they 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.320 are willing to sit there. They have the freedom to 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:11.400 remove their arm and leave if they'd like to. They're 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.920 not restrained. It's fully their choice to participate. 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.560 Which I love that different than in the past setting 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.400 a scenario a certain way, but this is them taking 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:24.080 part of the situation having ownership in control of it, right, absolutely. 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.360 So we do have a specialized sleeve we call it. 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:30.320 It's an attachment that goes into their training area with 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:32.280 an opening and a handle so they can put their 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.120 arm through and expose their arms so that we can 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.720 wrap a blood pressure cuff to their arm the exact 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.240 same as a human one. It's the same exact blood 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.440 pressure cuff, and then the blood pressure machine takes their reading. 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:44.400 Oh that's cool. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.080 It's actually a lot more straightforward and. 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:56.480 It too. Oh. 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.560 Actually, well, we were talking about these behaviors you guys, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:15:59.840 I kind of want to know, like, you have a 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.000 training plan, right, this is how we're going to train 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:05.600 this blood pressure behave as an example. They're different personalities, right, 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.200 so I'm kind of curious like how we're training each one, 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.120 Like did one learn it faster than the other. 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:14.480 Yeah, that's a really great question. So the approximations for 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.320 each training behavior, we break it down. Sometimes they can 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:19.880 skip several steps and they can just jump right through 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:20.920 because they're super smart. 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:22.240 They know what you want, you know exactly. 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:26.720 Yeah, they typically can train very very quickly. These bears 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.000 are super smart. There are behaviors that we've been able 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.880 to shape in one day alone, and then we sometimes 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.800 you have breakdowns where if you don't train a behavior 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.320 for a little while, then they kind of maybe a 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.960 little reminder, a little pressure. And I would say that 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.000 two bears are very different in their personalities, so they 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.840 each trained behaviors at a different pace. So some things 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.000 he trained really really quickly and she did it, and 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.080 somethings she trained really really quickly and he didn't. 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:50.440 Really. 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.720 Overall, though, these bears are super easy to work with. 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.800 They're super smart. Both of them train very quickly. They 0:16:58.080 --> 0:16:58.720 make it easy. 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.600 They're motivated, Nikki brought that out to here, Like they're 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.720 very food motivated, like they want to eat, so that 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:05.600 kind of helps they do. 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:08.679 They love to eat. And they're very personal bears as 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:11.440 much as they are wild animals. We never share space 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.119 with them. All protective content, all protected contact. They do 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:18.359 really enjoy that training interaction, that. 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:21.720