WEBVTT - Giant Panda Update 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.000 Hi, I'm Rich Schwartz, but uses the world. 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:07.800 I'm Marco Wentz. 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.119 Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.400 wildlife from around the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.159 This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio and 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:22.800 San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.360 which oversees the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.680 Oh Senor, It's October and that means we both have 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.400 been doing a lot of interviews for Kids Free Month 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:34.880 at the Zoo and the Safari Park. 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:36.159 Oh, I know, I know what you mean. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:39.200 Kids Free Month in October, the Autumn Festival to Safari Park. 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.960 How Gloween is the San Diego Zoo. We have been 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:43.880 busy letting everyone know all the details. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.680 I mean, I guess we should let our audience know 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.440 that too, huh. I mean, just in case anyone hasn't 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:53.360 heard yet. During the month of October, kids ages eleven 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.120 and under can get into the San Diego Zoo or 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.280 the Safari Park for free with a paid adult ticket. 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:00.360 It's true that it's true. 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.520 And the Autumn Festival it's a Safari Park that's on 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:06.440 Saturdays and Sundays. And Howgloween at a zoo that's on Fridays, 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:09.320 Saturdays and Sundays, and both are included with your admission 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:12.000 to either park. But you know what, I have to admit, Marco, 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:15.000 every time I do an interview about Kids Free or 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:18.560 Hogloween or whatever, they always ask about the giant pandas. 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.679 Oh, friend, I know what you mean. 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.800 I mean it's usially like, oh, how are the pandas doing? 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:26.160 Or do you get to see the pandas every day 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:27.120 since you work there? 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:28.160 Oh? 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.480 I know. And then there's the popular Hey, can you 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:32.319 give me behind the scenes to see the pandas? 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:33.600 I know that's right. 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:36.960 I mean, sure, they're not birds, but you know, they 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:40.039 are truly a special addition to the zoo, and you know, 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:40.920 everyone wants. 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:41.880 To know how they're doing well. 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.280 As much as I would like to offer a special 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.040 behind the scenes panda tour to all of our listeners, 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:50.000 their family, their friends, that's just not something we're going 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:50.720 to get approval on. 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:52.800 So I'm thinking we should do the next best thing. 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:56.280 You mean, like an aviary tour. Oh, Marco, alright, I'm 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:56.720 just kiddy. 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:57.360 I'm just kiddy. 0:01:57.440 --> 0:01:58.800 Although it does give me an idea. 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.360 No Marco, no my aviary tourists, but we should go 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:04.120 into the zoo and talk to someone who knows a 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.400 lot about giant pandas, their behavior and how they're settling 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.360 into life at the same Diego Zoo. 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:12.840 All right, fair enough, I guess we should head to 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:14.320 the zoo and hey, I'll tell you what. 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:16.240 If you're good during the interview, we'll stop at one 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:17.320 of the aviary's on the way out. 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:18.320 Okay, oh goody. 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:24.960 I am Nicki Boyd. I am Curator of Mammals, Ambassadors 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:25.840 and Applied Behavior. 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:27.760 That's a lot of stuff there, Nikki. 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:30.760 As far as your title goes, we're actually here to 0:02:30.760 --> 0:02:31.720 talk about pandas. 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:32.840 I didn't hear pandas in that. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:37.280 Title their mammal Okay, fair enough. 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.200 Well, as I mentioned, Nikki, we are here to find 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.920 out an update on the pandas, and I do know 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:45.600 actually you work quite a bit with the pandas and 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.600 the teams that work with the pandas, and part of 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:50.079 what your title is also behavior, which is also important. 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.320 We're going to get into all of that, but first 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.200 and foremost, i'd love to hear your immediate thoughts on 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:58.000 how are the pandas doing right now. 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:03.440 They're doing really well. The mail is pretty chill, you know, 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.800 you and Chwan, he's pretty fun to watch. He just 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.079 loves to pile the bamboo all over himself and set 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.120 up on his climbing structure. I know, I was laughing. 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:12.640 I'm like, he loves his bamboo and I'll turn around 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:14.080 all you can see his bottom feet stick it out 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:19.120 of green. So yeah, they're really fun to watch. They're 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:22.040 really getting playful, like you see all the panda videos 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.079 if you do, like all my reels are just panda 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.360 videos now then rolling downhills and why were they not 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.840 extinct because they're you know, always falling off of things. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.919 And he was just like rolling through the habitat with 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:34.160 one of his logs. So part of our outcome based 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.560 husband is to feed them in a way that creates 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:38.280 like a bamboo grove where they have to pull it out. 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:40.320 So we have these logs that have holes killed in 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.920 them and all the bamboos stuck in there. And well 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:44.520 he pulled all the bamboo out and then he started 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:46.440 rolling on his back and rolling the log over and 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:49.360 flipping it and running up and climbing his tree. We 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:51.080 call it a bonzai tree, but it's a really big 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:53.680 squatty pine tree, and he climbs up and looks out 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:55.440 the top and it looks like he's like driving his 0:03:55.520 --> 0:04:00.480 space ship. It's really very buddy. So yeah, so he's 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:02.720 like he's chill, but then he's also starting to have fun, 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:03.920 like coming to his element. 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:04.960 Oh cool, that's really great. 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:06.400 Yeah, I can't ask you that you really quick in 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.680 case our listeners aren't aware when you said outcome based husbandry, 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:10.680 Like what do you mean by that? 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:12.040 Like, what's a quick way to describe that. 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.320 So a lot of people are familiar with like zoos 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.599 do enrichment. So now we talk about experiences, and so 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.880 when we do an experience, we try to mimic some 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:22.760 of the natural behavior of an animal in the wild. 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.479 And so we have inputs, which are things that you 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.760 put in, but we're looking really for the outcomes. And 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:30.680 so if you want to pana to eat bamboo like 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:33.160 a panda wood in the wild, how do you create that? 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:35.440 What's the input which is those logs as I mentioned, 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:36.960 with the holes jill in them, and you just stock 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.800 the fresh bamboo in there, and then the outcome is 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:44.320 them just sitting and processing food longer like they naturally would, 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.960 So we consider that an outcome, and the way that 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:49.880 we manage animals is called husbandry, and so outcome based 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.440 husbandry is just a term that we use in the 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.320 zoo and kind of cool that San Diego Zoo has 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:57.240 kind of like coined this phrase and we teach it 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.120 around the world and a lot of people are focusing 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.560 on that because it's about the closest thing you can 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:04.600 to having natural behavior of a wild panda. So it's 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:06.679 really cool and we use it for so many different species. 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:07.479 Oh yeah, I love it. 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.920 I mean, I remember one scenario. Another bear like grizzly 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:11.880 is an example, and you can correct me if I'm wrong. 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.760 But the little thing seasonal for instance, buds will start 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:16.720 coming out of a flower, right, and that'll be a cute. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.200 The springtime is coming and perhaps you know, maybe fish 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.159 will be coming at a certain point depending on the season, 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:22.840 And so that's really great that you guys do that. 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.080 Yeah, I love the different seasonal ones. We have a 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:29.159 forest fire one, we have the spring fruiting experience. The 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.400 fish one you mentioned will do a dry season where 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:33.080 the water will get lower in the pool and then 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.039 it's easier to catch the fish, so then we have 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.520 like river rock in there, and then the grizzly go fishing. 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.159 So it's not just throwing a ball in a habitat. 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.000 Right, Yeah, trying to get away from that, and so 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:44.440 it's fun to talk about it because it might not 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:47.680 be as obvious to just the person walking by a habitat. 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.120 But I just need you all to know that it's 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.360 a very thoughtful process that we're doing all the time 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:54.359 with a bunch of different species. And so when you 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:56.960 get to see an animal being a bear or a 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.240 diraffe that's foraging for multiple hours, it's part of our 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.039 thoughtful outcome based systry process. 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.560 Thanks for explaining that, and hopefully now our guests when 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:05.880 they're coming to the zoo of the park, they can 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:07.280 take a little more extra time and kind of see 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.000 all the nuances of what a wildlife care specialist does. 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:13.160 Right, And you were mentioning Yu and Chuan, what about Singbao? 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:14.280 How is she doing out there? 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.120 So she's been a character since she got here. Oh yeah, 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:18.960 even when they went to China and to visit her, 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:21.039 she was rolling down the hill and she had this 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.920 little stomp off the wall and give a little side eye. 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:26.280 Like I used to do Panda side eye. 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.520 Yeah, Canda side eye. So everyone and in a while 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:30.080 Gaileen will be like, oh, she just gave us a 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.599 side eye. So it's just her being very aware of 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:35.760 her environment. So she has I like to describe the 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.599 two habitats as once more of Chinese mountain side. So 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.880 she's got this great hill landscape. In the very beginning, 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.599 she was laying at the very top checking out her kingdom, 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.880 you know, her purview. She could see people making her bamboo, 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.800 so she was kind of really watching out for the 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.760 bamboo to arrive. Now she's down front and center. 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:55.080 You know. 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.600 Sometimes on hot days she was the air conditioning. But 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:02.279 they love their climbing structure, and so she's all over 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.240 the habitat. Un Schwan's in what I like to call 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.039 the intimate forest view have a habitat. So you'll see 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.160 the two different sides, and we're actually gonna rotate them. 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:11.960 We're going to give them a couple of months to 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:14.480 acclimate into the spaces they're at now, and then we'll 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.880 swap them. Because the male actually normally have a bigger territory. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.600 We felt when we first got to know her that 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.160 she would benefit from having a bigger space. If she 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.040 wanted to retreat, she could. He was a lot more chill, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:27.880 and she was kind of honking at us at first, 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.320 which is a vocalization of why are all these people 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:33.600 looking at me? And not that there was that many, 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.160 but we acclimated them pretty slowly with like six people 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:38.080 and she was fine. And ten people come in, she 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:41.240 look at everybody and do a little honk, and so 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.760 we were like, okay, she's telling us like, what are 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.400 you doing in my space? And then eventually she just 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:48.480 go back to eating her bamboo and she realized everything 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:50.880 was fine. So we slowly brought more and more people 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.720 in and now she's totally fine. But we were very 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.720 thoughtful about which habitat they could each go in, and 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.800 our Chinese colleagues were here and they wanted him to 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.560 have bigger space right off the bat. Not only is 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:04.880 that natural behavior where the male has a bigger territory, 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.600 but it builds up their strength for breeding, which is 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.360 going to happen down the road, not this year. We 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:12.280 were able to negotiate and say, you know, we really 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:14.520 think she would benefit from this bigger space, and so 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:16.760 they were like, that sounds reasonable. We'll give them two 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:18.600 or three months and then we'll swap them and see 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:19.880 how they do. So that's the plan. 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.040 That was one thing you just mentioned that talking back 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.960 and forth and negotiating like what would be the best 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.840 for the individual animals. I want to dive a little 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:31.000 more into the collaboration that it's taken, because obviously there 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:32.880 were people in China taking care of the pandas before 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.679 they got here. But talk a little bit about the collaboration, 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:37.800 not only what we're experiencing now, but maybe just a 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:38.880 little bit of history on it too. 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.000 Yeah. So you know, we had giant pantas here for 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.480 twenty two years before, and we had a great relationship 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:48.199 with our Chinese partners, and I just remember people saying 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.080 it was kind of like a homecoming when we went 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.040 back over there. It's a lot of the same people 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.559 were here. I know, you had Megan Owen on the podcast, 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.800 and so when she was there, you know, Paul was 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.360 describing it was like hugging in tears. And we've had 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.679 a long relationship, which is great for building trust and collaboration, 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.959 as you mentioned, And so this time we had some 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.040 people who had been there before and bringing some of 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.800 our newer folks, so doctor Meg c Eedlin Smith, doctor 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.679 Ben Nevitt, who's taking her place as she rolls into retirement. 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.880 Greg and Jessica, my boss and his partner in welfare 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:21.560 assess the bears and got to go with Gayleen who 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.200 had worked with the bears before. So it's kind of 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.800 this great collaboration with the Chinese colleagues going to China, 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:30.640 and then as they came over. We have about six 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:33.559 wilivecare specialists that are assigned to the panda area. Three 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.400 of them worked with the pandas before and three of 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.000 them are new, so we are also teaching, like our 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.040 next generation of wildfecare specialists how to take care of pandas. 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.959 And then the Chinese colleagues are right here with us 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.120 talking about how they do it in China, and two 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.160 of the new Wildfecare specialists went to China as well. 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.640 Jana and Jessica got to go over there and see 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.319 the bears before they came over, so they share a 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:57.080 lot of information of how they do stuff. But I 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:59.200 think they're also learning a lot from us too, like 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.839 the outcome bas when Jews we just talked, So I 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.679 think they're going to take some stuff back to China 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.720 that they've learned from us, and then I really look 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:10.839 forward to the conservation potential with this. So we have, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.800 you know, our conservation hubs, and Asia is one of 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:15.679 the hubs, and I was an Asian Hub leader, So 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.040 I of course love red pandas. If anyone knows, I was. 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.240 Just going to say, your absolutely favorite, and well, what 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:24.160 is the red panda really quick, just in case people. 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:28.640 It's a small carnivore. They're called panda because both giant 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.880 panas and red pantas eat bamboo. Oh that's why Punya 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:35.120 is bamboo eater, and so panda came from Punya, which 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.120 is a name that they called them. I like to 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.000 call them the op the original panda. 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:40.400 Yeah, that's right. 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.679 They're not related to each other. So giant pantas are 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:44.760 in the bear family and red pantas are in their 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.440 own family. It's called a lure po to day. And 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.760 so that's what's kind of fun about science, is like 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.600 it's sometimes changing and learning. The more technology you have, 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.000 the more you learn. So now there's actually two species 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.840 of panda. They used to be subspecies. So there's a 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.720 Chinese red panda and a West turn nor Himalayan red panda, 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.040 and so they have enough differences genetically that they are 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:06.360 considered two different species now, which just came out in 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:08.920 the last couple of years. So since Rick and I 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.040 were red panic keepers back in the day in the 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:15.800 old Yeah, that's great. String I moved up. 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:21.240 Yeah, podcast, Yeah, I. 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.040 Want to hear you know, when you give your string 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:24.439 over to somebody, you really trust them. 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:26.440 And for those listening, who so we're having a moment 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:26.920 here right now. 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.840 The string is an area that a staff member wildlife 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:33.319 care specialist cares for. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.079 And in the area that I started in. 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.040 Children Zu Nikki was a full time senior wildlife care 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:40.200 specialist at the time, and she trained me on it 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:45.120 was what red pandas otters. We had porcupine in one 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:48.040 of the habitats, we had naked morats and I'm trying 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:50.280 to think who else was over there, bandar was over there? 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.640 They been wrong. Yeah, So and then we did the 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:54.959 back area that had the goody and the tamandoa. 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:56.920 Yeah. So that was what she means when she says 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.200 a string, that's an area we referred to as a 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:00.360 sort of string of habit attats. 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.439 If you will that you take care of. I love 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:04.000 the history we had red pandas. 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.320 Yes, And so to go back to the saying how 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.439 science change things, I think obviously, when I first started, 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:11.800 it was only considered one species of red panda with 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.120 a subspecies idea, and it had just been a few 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.400 years that they decided red pandas and giant pandas were 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:19.120 not related. 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.080 At that time, it was like the late nineties, early 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:21.880 two thousand, right. 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.240 Yeah, I've been writing an article for our like kids 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.480 call a club or a newsletter and saying, what do 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.320 you kids think? So that's what's fun about science is 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.760 it's changing and different scientists, you know, find different discoveries. 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.559 And so we've had scientific names change on us. You 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.680 memorize one for a long time and then it changes. 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.080 And you know, giant pandas and red pantas live in 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.160 the same habitat, and so they were thought, well, why 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:45.599 aren't they really they both eating. 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:47.200 Bamboo, they have the bone and the wrists. 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.960 Yeah, must be red. I bet, I bet it's still 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:53.440 up for debate, and I bet there'll still be some 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:55.800 scientists trying to decide if they should be in the 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:56.560 same family or not. 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:58.760 Well, I'm glad he brought it up because I love 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.880 to remind people just diversity of animals and plants that 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:02.720 live in that area. 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:04.319 I mean, giant pandas are amazing. 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:06.560 As I'm a bird guy, you know, the Asian crusted 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.839 iyeb is endangered species at bird that really needs a 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.640 lot of help, so many others Chinese alligator as well, 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:13.160 So it's going to help a lot of species with 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:14.640 the work we're doing with the giant pandas. 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.880 Right, absolutely, so, I think of giant pan as as 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.079 an umbrella species. And so if you save habitat for 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.840 giant pan as, you're helping the red panda, Chinese minol. 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.839 Any of the reptiles that might be in the lower elevations, well, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.760 the main mountain viper is actually up there, and that's 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:30.640 you can see that if you come to Pandaridge, you'll 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:34.160 see this beautiful green viper that was only discovered since 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.600 I think the nineteen seventies, so I'm sure the indigenous 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.360 people knew about them a long time. I got, but 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.760 really like scientifically categorized and we've mastered breeding that ming 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:48.640 mountain viper. So our reptil team is amazing. And so yeah, 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.079 when you comee through panda ridge also see red panda, 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.920 So we have Cola the red panda over there, and 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.760 trying to let people see the habitat looks natural as 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:58.520 I described them already, but also some of the other 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.400 species that would live in that same habitat, because to 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:03.679 see a panda in the wild would be really hard, 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.800 almost impossible to write. Yeah, And so that's what I 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:10.040 think the value of zoos and getting people excited about 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:11.920 not only being able to see them and kind of 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.679 create that empathy and get to see those personalities as 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:18.200 we're just describing, you know, but also just see like 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.440 a habitat set up like it might be in the wild. 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:24.200 And our architects were very thoughtful about how we design 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.600 the space. Of course, the trees that went in, I know, 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:28.080 you had Adam Graves on here. 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:29.480 It was amazing. 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.480 Yeah, and you know, we have to approve every tree, 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:34.640 every plant that goes in there, and making sure that 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:36.400 you're never going to put a toxic plant in with 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.800 any animal, not just giant pandas. But it's quite a process. 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:41.600 I don't think people realize what it takes to set 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.480 up a habitat, you know, kidding. 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:46.880 And then the maintenant once the pandas are in the yeah, right, Actually. 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:47.920 With that, I wanted to ask you earlier. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.520 They're going to stain the existing habitats are in for 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:52.360 about what two three months? You were saying, yeah, and 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.120 then rotate them around. And we were talking earlier just 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:56.880 to remind guess that this is still a bear, right, 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:59.440 and these are more solitary animals for the most part, 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:01.360 because I remember when they had arrived here, a bunch 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.600 of guests are asking me why are they together? You know, 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:05.960 but if you heard the episode with Megan, you would 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.640 remember that, folks, this is a bear species, a solidary 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.440 bear species. So there are some behavioral nuances you and 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:13.360 the team have to do right when you're engaging with 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:14.640 these animals on a day to day. 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.560 Yeah. And a lot of people don't realize like such 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.600 a small breeding window too, so it's like, yeah, three 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:21.040 days once a year, so. 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:24.400 We've three days once a year, right, Yeah, wow, I know. 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:27.280 So I appreciate that you said that, because we do 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.840 want to focus on natural behavior, right, So it wouldn't 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.600 be normal for them to live together, and you know, 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.280 they've been side by side and two habitats and they 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.440 know each other's there. They have an amazing sense of 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.560 smell hearing site, and so they could actually if they're 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.920 in the right angle we have a gate open or something, 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:44.440 they can kind of see each other. They know each 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.160 other's there, but they're happy in their own spaces. So 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.720 when it comes to you know, introductions and stuff, we 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:52.400 had six cubs before, so we're obviously pretty good at it, 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.160 and a lot of like I mentioned, those people that 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.440 were here before, are going to help teach the next 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.120 generation of pandora if care specialists how to take care 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:02.600 of them. So a lot of what we do is scientific. 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:08.520 It's understanding nutrition and horticulture, but understanding behavior, natural biology, 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:12.360 ecology and wrapping that all together. So I have the 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.800 most respect for wilfecare specialists. I know we have all 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:18.080 been wildfecare specialists, but it's just everyone's taken it to 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.600 the next level and it makes me really proud to 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.640 work here. So I know you guys too. 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.120 Of course, of course I want to touch on the 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:25.520 top of it. 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.160 We mentioned your title has the word behavior, and if 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:28.600 we've mentioned it quite a bit as we go through 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:32.480 this process, what are some of the behaviors that we're 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.640 working on with the pandas now that they're here, or 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.040 did they come with everything already like downloaded they know 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:37.560 everything to do. 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.320 That's a great question, and we just had a meeting 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:42.720 this week, so it's very appropriate that we talk about 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.120