ZOOQQCER

Features The Lady and the Panda Departments

By Margery Facklam $ 7 N . 71

: OOINews

The Giant Panda 5 Bed Wisdac atthe

National Zoo

by Ronn Brackin 11

Volume 9, Number 3

May-June, 1980

co ae Will the Real Panda. .2 14 Contributors 25

a ae In Search of the Fire Cat BookNews 20

Consulting Editor by Miles Roberts 16

Rebecca McClimans,

Design and Production

FRONT COVER: The giant panda

Hsing-Hsing is one of the best-

known of Washington celebrities.

BACK COVER: Although its weight

as an adult is only about three per-

cent that of the giant panda, the red

panda is its nearest relative. Both

photos courtesy NZP Office of

Graphics and Exhibits.

The color cover on this issue of

ZooGoer, as well as the color

covers on Volume 8, Number 6

and Volume 9, Number 1, are the

very generous gift of FONZ Board

of Directors member Al Hackl,

President of Colortone Press.

ZooGoer is profoundly grateful.

Jessie Cohen, NZP Office of Graphics and Exhibits

The G

Surprisingly little is known about

the life of the giant panda in the wild.

No detailed field studies have ever

been done; so the “‘bei-shung”

(“white bear,” or panda), known to

westerners only since 1869, is still as

elusive as it is fascinating.

Experts cannot even agree on

whether the giant panda should be

classified as a bear or a raccoon.

Anatomically, the giant panda

(known to taxonomists as Ailuropoda

melanoleuca, or ‘black-and-white

cat-footed animal’) seems like a

highly specialized bear. But giant

pandas are more like raccoons with

respect to their skulls, teeth, stom-

achs, and chromosomal structure.

Also, bears roar, whereas pandas

bleat or cough. Recent chromosome

studies indicate that scientists were

correct in assigning giant pandas and

their cousins the red pandas a taxo-

nomic family all their own.

The giant panda inhabits a small

and remote region of western China

near the Tibetan border. Most giant

pandas live in China’s Szechuan

province. Within its range, the giant

panda is usually found in the conif-

erous forests and dense bamboo

thickets that cover the mountain-

Left, the National Zoo’s 10- to 11-year-old

Ling-Ling munches on her favorite food.

lant Panda

Giant pandas are found in the wild only in China’s Szechuan and Kansu provinces,

although once they roamed the Himalayas. The Chinese have made gifts of giant pandas

to London, Paris, Tokyo, North Korea, Madrid, Mexico City, and Washington, D.C.

sides between 5,000 and 10,000 feet

above sea level.

Although the provinces of

Szechuan and Kansu are at the same

latitude as Florida, their high altitude

makes them inhospitable to all but

the most hardy. Snow covers the

ground from October to May. In

other seasons rain is almost contin-

uous. Summer temperatures rarely

exceed 50° F.

Several other unique mammals

share this bamboo belt. One of these

is the golden-brown takin, which

looks something like the musk ox.

The takin is so closely associated

with the bamboo forests that early

hunters took its presence as a sure

sign there were giant pandas nearby.

The red panda is also found in giant

panda country, although its range in-

cludes both lower and higher alti-

tudes. Other unusual residents are

the golden-haired monkey, leopards,

lynxes, and the Himalayan black

bear. :

Adult pandas are solitary. Each

one has its own home range, but the

average size of this range is unknown.

One observer believes it’s only one

5

square mile. Others think that since

pandas are so large, the one square

mile might represent the most fre-

quently used portion of a larger

range. Like bears, each panda de-

fends its territory against other

pandas. Pandas warn away intruders

and attract each other by marking

their territory with scent.

This form of territorial identifi-

cation is called scent-marking. Giant

pandas of both sexes have scent

glands under their tails. Hsing-Hsing,

the National Zoo’s male giant panda,

uses both his urine and scent glands

to mark walls, logs, and other objects

in his enclosure every morning.

Sometimes he does a “handstand”

while marking: Forefeet on the

ground, he walks his hind feet up the

wall until he can press his posterior

scent glands against it.

Females are believed to scent-

mark less frequently than males;

Ling-Ling, the Zoo’s female giant

panda, scent-marks less often than

Hsing-Hsing does. The exception to

this rule comes during breeding

season, when both sexes. increase

their scent-marking. In the wild this

increased activity must help the

adults of this solitary species find one

another.

Each giant panda travels along

well-established paths through the

bamboo thickets, stopping every

hundred yards or so to feed. Ob-

servers have noted that the giant

panda is most active in feeding

around dawn and dusk, sleeping at

midday and during the middle of the

night. This pattern of activity is called

crepuscular. (Diurnal means active

by day; nocturnal, active at night.)

Scientists at the National Zoo have

6

noted that Hsing-Hsing and _Ling-

Ling are most active in the early

morning and from dusk to after mid-

night. They sleep during the middle

of the day and the latter part of the

night.

Whatever the pattern, giant pan-

das, like bears, often make sleeping

nests. The nest is formed of bamboo

stalks twisted together—perhaps so

that the panda will not have to go far

for a “midnight snack”! Pandas are

also said to hole up in hollow trees or

under rock ledges.

Giant panda trails, nests, feeding

sites, and droppings have been found

by explorers much more often than

pandas themselves. The feeding sites

are said to be particularly easy to

find, consisting of one or two square

yards that have been cleared of

bamboo by the panda. According to

one account, the panda bites off 15

to 20 bamboo stalks at each feeding

site and piles them up. These stems

may be from five to 18 feet tall.

It has been said that the panda

eats the middle part of the stalk and

rejects both the leaves and the tough

bottom. In the wild, this may be so;

but many young captive specimens,

including Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling,

seem to prefer the leaves.

While feeding, the giant panda lies

on its back or side, or sits with its

hind legs outstretched in the char-

acteristically slouching seated pos-

ture so familiar to Zoo visitors. It

raises to its mouth one of the stalks it

has broken off and, with a twisting

movement of the forepaw and a side-

ways jerk of the head, strips off the

bamboo’s tough outer layer. Then it

bites off a section of the peeled stalk,

chews it methodically, and swallows.

One of the giant panda’s most in-

teresting features is its unique pseu-

dothumb, an elongation of its wrist-

bone that enables it to pick up and

hold objects with surprising preci-

sion. The pseudothumb appears as a

furrow between the wristbone pad

and the palm pad when the panda

flexes its forepaw—a little bit like the

furrow that would appear if a human

were to flex his hand inside a thumb-

less mitten. The pseudothumb is so

dexterous that giant pandas have

been observed picking up straws and

small pieces of food. Hsing-Hsing

and Ling-Ling can even pick up their

metal feed trays by the edge.

Even the youngest and tenderest

of bamboo shoots are not easy to

chew and digest; and, of course, in

winter, mature stalks are all that is

available. So it is not surprising that

the giant panda has been called a

strikingly well-developed grinding

machine, with its huge molars and

cheek teeth and powerful chewing

muscles.

The giant panda’s digestive sys-

tem, however, is surprisingly ineffi-

cient. Though its esophagus and

stomach are thick-walled and very

muscular (the better to remain un-

torn by splinters of bamboo), the

panda’s small intestine, usually fairly

long in herbivorous (plant-eating)

mammals, is unusually short. Evi-

dently bamboo is so difficult to

digest that, after it has been ground

up as much as possible in the mouth

and stomach, it must be passed

quickly through to the large intestines

where it can be acted on by internal

bacteria and protozoa.

Even so, the giant panda is unable

to absorb anywhere near all of bam-

boo’s potential nourishment; so_ its

droppings are characterized by large

amounts of undigested matter.

To compensate for bamboo’s rela-

tively low nutritional value and re-

latively high indigestibility, plus the

inefficiency of the giant panda’s

digestive system, a panda may in the

wild spend up to 12 hours a day feed-

ing. If that is so, it would seem that

pandas do little else; but then, they

have little else to do. Pandas have

few, if any, enemies aside from

human beings. Perhaps significantly,

captive pandas seem to lose most of

their interest in food during mating

season.

How much of the giant panda’s

diet in the wild is made up of foods

other than bamboo is still unknown.

Analysis of the droppings of wild

pandas has shown occasional traces

of small mammals and birds. It is cer-

tainly untrue— although it has often

been said—that the panda’s diet is

exclusively bamboo. Crocuses, irises,

and grass have also been reported as

occasional food items, and some-

times a panda will invade a field of

corn. Bamboo is unavailable in

Moscow, but the Moscow Zoo’s

long-lived male panda, An-An, suc-

cessfully adjusted to a diet of birch

twigs. In fact, the giant panda—like

many bears—has a sweet tooth.

Early travelers reported that pandas

frequently raided farmers’ beehives.

When Zoo keepers want to entice

Hsing-Hsing or Ling-Ling, they use

honey as bait.

Giant pandas are good if slow

climbers. They often climb to the

tops of tall trees to rest during the

day or, according to natives, ‘sun

themselves.” They hoist themselves

NZP Office of Education

up by hugging the trunk, as bears do.

They usually climb down tail first,

but they may walk down a more hori-

zontal branch head first.

Although contradicted by some

western observers, Chinese experts

say that pandas love water. Chen Ho-

yi, assistant at the Chinese Academy

of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology, re-

WS

To eat, pandas break off

bamboo into small stalks,

strip off the tough outer

layers with their powerful

molars. Pandas can grasp

and lift objects with their

forepaws, which have a

unique sixth digit like a

thumb.

Hsing- Hsing (left)

scent-marks his enclosure.

ported that pandas “sometimes con-

tinue drinking until they are so full

that they can only waddle. One giant

panda actually lost consciousness

through over-drinking; it was found

by members of a production team

who stood guard till it came to and

was able to go safely on its way.”

Continued on page 25

7

The Lady & The Panda

Today when being transported,

exotic animals are tranquilized and

shipped as carefully as cargos of

crystal. They travel in air-conditioned

jets, and are attended by veterinar-

ians and zoologists. When Ling-Ling

and Hsing-Hsing were shipped to the

National Zoo, the operation followed

a schedule as detailed as any military

operation. But in 1936, when the first

giant panda was brought to the

western world, it was a one-woman

operation, and it was _ successful

more from luck and determination

than from skill or knowledge.

In the 1930s animal collectors

shared top billing with movie stars

and matinee idols. Frank Buck’s

famous slogan, “Bring ‘Em Back

Alive,” blinked from the theater

marquees where he showed his films.

Martin and Osa Johnson, who de-

livered the first gorillas to the San

Diego Zoo, were surrounded by auto-

graph seekers wherever they lectured.

Ruth Harkness, however, stepped

into the animal collecting business a

total innocent. She was a dress de-

signer who “inherited” an expedition

but who went on to capture the

animal destined to make the top 10

on everyone’s “favorite animal” list.

Until 1936 no one had seen a live

giant panda outside its native habitat,

_ and few people in Asia had seen the

elusive, bear-like beast that roamed

8

BY MARGERY FACKLAM

the snow-covered slopes of the high

Himalayas.

In 1928 Teddy Roosevelt’s sons

Kermit and Theodore Jr. shot a giant

panda in Szechuan province near the

China-Tibet border, and gave its skin

to the Field Museum in Chicago. That

exhibit triggered a small flurry of

trophy-hunting expeditions — but for-

tunately for pandas, that kind of trip

was too expensive for all but a few

“sreat white” hunters.

In spite of such publicity, Ruth

Harkness had never heard of a

panda. When her husband told her

he was off to China to capture a giant

panda for the Bronx Zoo, Ruth said,

“Giant panther, don’t you mean?”

William Harkness was an explorer

and animal collector just back from

capturing Komodo dragons for the

Bronx Zoo when he organized his

panda expedition. Ruth asked to go

along, but she was told that it ““wasn’t

that a woman couldn’t make herself

useful, but governments make such a

fuss if anything happens to a

woman.”

So Ruth stayed in New York City.

Months went by with little word ex-

cept for the message that the expedi-

tion could get no permit to go into

the interior of China. It was then

1934. Newspapers were reporting

“sreat unrest in Asia,” and Ruth read

with fear the accounts of Japan in-

vading Manchuria. Finally, a cable

arrived: William Harkness had died

in Shanghai of an unnamed disease.

“| had inherited an expedition,”

Ruth wrote in her journal.

Knowing nothing about either pan-

das or expeditions, Ruth decided to

go to China. Against the advice of

friends who knew that her most

athletic moment was running for a

cab, or that her knowledge of ani-

mals was limited to her experiences

with one kitten, she went.

She had a lot of time to think

about that decision on the long, slow

voyage across the Atlantic and

around India to Shanghai. There,

sweltering in the heat, she spent

months settling accounts and sorting

equipment left in a warehouse by her

husband's partners. The English colo-

ny entertained her with hair-raising

tales of what the Red Army did to

captured foreigners and how she

would die of dysentery if she wasn’t

shot by bandits.

In spite of it all, Ruth fell in love

with China. “There was a curious

feeling in me that this was not an

alien land, a strange and foreign

country, but in some _ inexplicable

way... home,” she wrote.

Ruth found a guide, Quentin

Young, the brother of the man who

had taken the Roosevelts into panda

country. Together they assembled

equipment from her late husband’s

expedition, which included enough

guns and ammunition to start a small

army. Neither of them had any idea

of what to take to trap a 300- or 400-

pound animal. Finally, they added

five big traps, bales of wire, and coils

of rope to the inventory.

At that point Ruth reported that

she did not really expect to find an

animal; she did hope to stay until she

Saw one, however. One night, going

over lists, it occurred to her that they

might have trouble taking a huge and

reluctant animal down a mountain,

so “why not get a baby one.”

“I sot out of bed and made a shop-

ping note on my memo pad,” she

wrote. “Nursing bottle, nipples, dried

milk.”

In September 1936, just two years

after her husband had started the

venture, Ruth made the first leg of

the 1,500-mile trip on a slow steamer

up the Yangtze River. Overland they

used rickety trucks and wheelbar-

rows, but mostly they walked. The

porters offered to carry Ruth, but she

refused. It became a matter of pride,

although, she wrote, “most often |

was straggling in the rear.”

In the mountains of Szechuan,

they had to climb higher and slipper-

ier slopes and scramble over swaying

rope bridges and pathways. With the

first base camp at last set up, Ruth

looked forward to weeks, even

months, of resting, exploring, writing.

But only two days after the last tent

was in place, Quentin, who had gone

When Su Lin was colicky in Shanghai,

Ruth called in a pediatrician— who said,

“A pandor? Sounds disagreeable.” But he

came to her hotel and examined the infant

giant panda.

on to set up two more sites from

which to lay traps, came racing into

camp shouting “Bei-shung!’”” He had

seen signs of the giant panda, claw

marks on bamboo and fresh dung.

At dawn the next morning, Novem-

ber 9, Ruth, Quentin, an old native

named Tsang, and two porters set

out to check traps. It was a steady

climb in a cold, drizzling rain.

“In places the bamboo had fallen

and made slimy traps into which |

sank to my waist,” Ruth said. “By

that time | was proceeding mostly on

hands and knees.”

Suddenly the silence was ex-

ploded by a shot. Ruth was furious.

She had given orders for no shooting

in the trapping area. ‘‘What is it?’”” she

called.

“Bei-shung,’”” Quentin’s voice

echoed from the slopes ahead.

Ruth listened, but heard only

dripping water from leaves. She hur-

ried through bamboo thickets. “I

could see him dimly through the wet

branches,” she reported. “! stum-

bled blindly, brushing water from my

face and eyes. Then I, too, stopped,

frozen in my tracks. From the old

dead tree came a baby’s whimper.”

Quentin was already reaching into

the hollow of a large tree. He pulled

out a fuzzy ball and handed it to

Ruth. “I reached for the tiny thing, a

squirming baby bei-shung, not a

fantasy.” The baby nuzzled_ her

jacket. “It’s hungry,” Ruth said, and

they raced back to camp, Ruth

sliding most of the way on her seat.

~ Quentin carried the infant panda in-

side his shirt.

After a few moments, the panda,

named Su Lin (“a little bit of some-

thing very cute,” in the dialect of that

10

Drawing by Margaret Brown

The FONZ Bookstore/Gallery and gift

shops have the widest selection of one-of-

a-kind giant panda items in the world.

province) nursed greedily. Its eyes

were still closed.

Although they questioned all the

porters and searched the area, there

was no sign of the mother panda, nor

any other panda. Ruth had the men

gather bamboo to take back to the

States so that the zoo that kept Su

Lin could find a similar food.

To ensure the cub’s health, the

Chinese porters staged a sacrificial

ceremony that night. They stabbed a

rooster three times in the neck,

burned paper money, poured wine

on the ground, and set off fire

crackers. Ruth added her part to the

ceremony by firing her revolver three

times in the air.

That Ruth and Su Lin arrived safe-

ly in America was a miracle. . . down

the mountains, back to Shanghai,

and eventually to America, Ruth was

dogged by problems. In Shanghai, Su

Lin was colicky and too warm. De-

layed by a 16-day shipping strike,

Ruth’s next battle was with customs

officials, who noticed she had no

permit. Knowing of her husband’s

failure to get one, and facing a

similar series of delays from the

Chinese, Ruth had gone ahead with-

out one. After a night arguing, Ruth

emerged from the customs offices

with a $20 permit for “one dog.”

At long last in New York, Su Lin

was examined by Bronx Zoo officials.

Her hind legs looked weak; did she

have rickets? What would they feed

her? For unrecorded reasons, the

Bronx Zoo turned down the panda,

and Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo

eagerly accepted the first giant

panda in captivity.

As the first female guests invited

to the exclusive Explorer’s Club, Ruth

and Su Lin were welcomed by stand-

ing ovations. Newspapers called the

public excitement over the two

“panda-monium.”

An experienced animal collector,

Tangier Smith, accused Ruth of buy-

ing the panda, claiming that Su Lin

was his and that he had been “keep-

ing an eye on her” until she was old

enough to be taken from her mother.

Ruth denied it.

But had Quentin bought the ani-

mal and planted it for Ruth to “find’’”?

Was Ruth naive? It makes no differ-

ence now; the glory is still hers. She

had done the near-impossible, keep-

ing a rare infant alive and well under

adverse circumstances.

Ruth Harkness died at 41, alone in

New York. Not much is known of her

life outside her panda days. But she

must have been as rare an individual

as the panda.O

Red Pandas

At the National Zoo

BY RONN BRACKIN

You are thousands of feet above

sea level, in the foothills of the

Himalayas. The mountain air is cool

and moist, the forest thick with pop-

lar, pine, and bamboo. Let your eye

follow a tree limb upward. If you are

very still and have an angel on your

shoulder, you may see “Wah.”

“Wah” is the name given this elusive

animal by some of the natives. In

1825, French naturalist Frederic

Cuvier called it Ai/urus fulgens: . .

Fire Cat.

Describing the red panda is a great

deal more difficult than naming it.

The inimitable Dr. Seuss would

probably come pretty close if he

took a little bit of cat, mixed it with a

touch of bear, added a dash of fox

and gave it the size and tail of a

raccoon.

Little is known for certain about

the red panda. Studies, including

those by Keeper David S. Kessler and

Curator Miles Roberts at the National

Zoological Park, indicate that red

pandas are shy, nocturnal, and for

the most part vegetarian. In capti-

vity, they mate in January and Feb-

ruary and have their cubs (some zoo-

logists prefer to call them kittens)

about four months later. At birth, the

cubs have a full coat of fluffy, buff-

colored fur. They cannot see, and

they are totally dependent on their

D.L. Golobitsh

tiie

ideal camouflage for the red panda, and may account for its unique coloration.

In mountainous Nepal, the lichens and mosses that hang from the trees provide an

11

mothers. They open their eyes after a

couple of weeks and leave the nest

about three and a half months later.

But they still need their mother’s milk

for a while before completely chang-

ing over to their new diet.

Red pandas in the wild are be-

lieved to rely mostly on bamboo

supplemented with roots, soft bark,

and buds. Bamboo is their main

staple here at the National Zoo as

well. But in captivity, their diet is

supplemented with a sweet gruel and

slices of fruit. Each red panda is fed

twice a day and can put away an en-

tire shoot of bamboo before the next

sunrise, thus easily maintaining its

cuddlesome-looking ten pound

figure.

A red panda lives more than a

decade in captivity, and it can re-

produce throughout most of that life-

time. Presently there are seven adult

red pandas here at the Zoo. Sixteen

more, including nearly a dozen cubs,

are at the 3,150-acre Conservation

and Research Center outside Front

Royal, Virginia, where researchers

are looking for ways to make the red

pandas happier and more comfort-

able away from their Asian home-

land.

Rarely does a day go by at the Zoo

without someone asking about the

difference between the red panda

and its big black and white cousin,

the giant panda. As Miles Roberts

likes to describe the scene, the

keeper or curator ‘shuffles uncom-

fortably from foot to foot, stares off

into the distance to avoid the ques-

tioning visitor's gaze, admits that

nobody really knows for sure, and

says —‘We’re working on it.’ ”

What is known is that both the red

12

and giant pandas eat bamboo. Both

have semi-retractable claws. \Both

have similar wristbones in their fore-

feet, similar dental structures, and

similar blood proteins. There are also

resemblances in digestive systems

and scent-marking behaviors. But red

pandas have fur on the soles of their

feet, whereas giant pandas have

tough, fleshy pads like a bear’s. The

two species differ in size, coloration,

and range. The giant panda can eat

while lying on its side; the red panda

usually stands on three feet to eat.

Being nocturnal animals, red pan-

das are mostly inactive during the

day. But when they’re not curled up

on a tree branch in the winter or

draped over one in the summer, their

behavior can be observed by visitors.

If you see a red panda squat on a

rock or twig and do a little shimmy,

he’s probably scent-marking. (I say

“he” because males are believed to

scent-mark more often than females.)

In scent-marking, the red panda

deposits a little urine and a secretion

from his anal gland on the object to

be marked and rubs it in with a series

of circular movements. No one is

sure why. The red pandas could be

marking their territory as a warning to

invaders, or they could simply be

reinforcing their familiarity with their

surroundings. |

Another theory is that they are

communicating information to one

another. The male, for example,

might be leaving an amorous odor-

message for any females who pass

that way. As far as we know, red

pandas are solitary animals, getting

together only to start a family and

then moving on.

Are red pandas an endangered

species? No one really knows, be-

cause no one is sure how many there

are or how many there should be. On

a FONZ-supported field research

project, Miles Roberts spent several

months in Nepal looking for the

answers — but he'll tell you that story.

[Ed. note: See “Search for the Fire

Cat’ on page 00. |

Red pandas are not a _ widely-

known species except among zoo-

logists. Their fur reportedly holds

little commercial value, and they are

said to have few natural predators.

Red pandas are believed to be sus-

ceptible to only a few diseases. They

are clean animals, washing them-

selves daily as cats do. But in cap-

tivity, they are prone to distemper

and must be inoculated regularly.

Another strange phenomenon

keepers must watch out for is some-

thing informally known as the

“panda blahs.” David Kessler says

some red pandas pick up the “blahs”

during the hot summer months. They

become lethargic and stop eating.

Kessler says one cure is to feed them

lots of bamboo.

Red pandas communicate through

a range of high- and low-frequency

sounds. When angry or defensive, the

red panda lets loose with an open-

mouthed ‘“‘huff-quack.’’ During

mating, a “twitter” is heard. Cubs

make a ‘‘wheet’’ sound when

frightened.

Some of the NZP’s red pandas are

kept in landscaped open yards, like

the yard near the Mane Gift Shop.

You can often see a group of visitors

looking for the red pandas around

the pond or in the grass or bamboo.

They stand there for a few minutes,

then shake their heads in frustration

NZP Office of Education

#

— PS

Born blind, the red panda cub can open its eyes within three weeks. After 70

sa e Se SE

~~

ORE

cubs are so good at climbing that their mother stops paying them much attention.

and move on—when all they had to

do was look up, in the trees.

Those who do spot them may

wonder why they don’t escape. On

occasion, they do. . . at least, Bertha

Mae does. David Kessler once told

me the story of Bertha Mae and the

Ice Storm:

A couple of years ago, winter

snows and varying temperatures

turned the National Zoo into a glassy

fairyland. Bertha Mae took full ad-

vantage of the situation. There was

just enough ice on the metal plate

which guarded her enclosure from

marauding squirrels to provide trac-

tion for her claws. Within moments,

Bertha Mae was up, over, and out.

Miles Roberts went up in a cherry-

picker (a truck with a motorized

crane in which a person can ride—

the telephone company uses them

often) to guide Bertha Mae down

from a nearby tree. Below them

stood a squad of keepers, safety nets

at the ready.

But there were more keepers than

there were nets, and David was left

out. He did, however, have his um-

brella with him! When Bertha Mae

came down, she spotted another tree

and made for it. But David was too

days, cubs are miniature replicas of adults; after 110 days,

quick for her. He held his mighty

bumbershoot against the bark, per-

pendicular to the tree, and stopped

her flight. . . temporarily. Down she

came and off she went again. Keeper

Oliver Warren, net in hand, lit out

after her, slipped on the ice, dropped

the net, and wound up with Bertha

Mae in his arms and a very surprised

expression on his face.

Ah, well. Better, | suppose, the

ten-pound Bertha Mae than the 242-

pound Ling-Ling. That’s one dif-

ference between red pandas and

giant pandas that Oliver was rather

grateful for! o

13

Giant Panda

Scientific Name: Ai/uropoda melano-

leuca.

English Translation: Black-and-white

cat-footed animal.

Length: Five to six feet long. Tail

stubby.

Weight: About 300 pounds.

Range: 5,000 to 10,000 feet above

sea level.

Eats: Umbrella and fountain bam-

boos. In the wild, this diet is sup-

plemented by herbs, flowers, small

animals, and occasionally corn

and honey. In the Zoo, Hsing-

Hsing and Ling-Ling daily eat ap-

ples, carrots, cooked rice, powder-

ed cottage cheese, 30-40 pounds

of bamboo, soy oil, honey, and

various vitamin and mineral sup-

plements. Both animals also eat

the grass that grows in their enclo-

sures and drink lots of fresh water.

Young: Usually one; rarely, two or

three. This seems to depend on

whether the female conceives dur-

ing her primary springtime heat,

or the autumnal heat she may go

into if she did not: conceive in

the spring.

Gestation Period: 118 to 168 days.

Disposition: Solitary, crepuscular,

primarily terrestrial. Can climb

trees, swim. Friendly as cubs, they

become more aggressive as they

mature, and will fight fiercely to

protect themselves or their terri-

14

tories.

NZP Office of Education

James Mulvaney

Will the Re:

Panda...

NZP Office of Fducation

Red Panda

Scientific Name: Aij/urus fulgens.

English Translation: Fire-colored or

shining cat-bear.

Length: 20 to 26 inches, plus a 12-

to 20-inch tail.

Weight: 6.6 to 10 pounds.

Range: 9,000 to 13,000 feet above

sea level. |

Eats: About a pound of bamboo per

day, supplemented by roots, bark,

and buds. In the National Zoo the

red panda’s diet is bamboo supple-

mented by slices of fruit, and a

sweet gruel made of eggs, Gerber

baby food, bamboo leaves, honey,

applesauce, vitamins, and

minerals.

Young: One or two.

Gestation Period: 130 days.

Disposition: Solitary, crepuscular,

semi-arboreal. Cubs raised — in

captivity are easily tamed.

Although the giant panda looks more like

bear and the red panda looks more like a

raccoon, taxonomists have put them in a

family of their own because of the charac-

teristics they share: the flat-footed toes

and waddling gait; the reliance on bam-

boo as principal food; and the pseudo-

thumb formation of the wristbone. Other

similarities that led to the grouping in-

clude teeth and powerful molars, skull

structure, tough esophagus and stomach,

and short intestinal tract. a

15

In Search of the

Fire Cat

BY MILES ROBERTS

“How are the pandas?” an ac-

quaintance asked.

“Which ones, the little ones or the

big ones?” | asked—hoping that, for

a change, he meant the little ones.

“Well, the big ones, | guess. You

mean you have more than one kind?”

| explained that, yes, there was

more than one kind; that the Nation-

al Zoo has two giant pandas and

dozens of red pandas; and that both

kinds were doing just fine.

Then, patiently—I’ve had a lot of

practice—1 outlined to my friend the

differences between the two: where

they came from, how they lived, and

so on. | was hoping to make a con-

vert of this fellow for the “underdog”

red panda.

“Oh,” my friend mused. | thought |

saw a gleam of understanding in his

eye, and felt a wild hope that I’d

made a convert. Then he went on,

“Will they have babies this year?”

“Whoe’ | asked expectantly.

“You know, the big ones, the real

Jan Skrentny

pandas.”

The red panda, the giant panda, and the raccoon family all probably originated | sighed.

millions of years ago from one common ancestor—which looked remarkably like This scene has happened so often

today’s red panda. that | think it’s time the story is set

straight. And so, dear reader, this is

the saga of the “Fire Fox,” the re

splendently named “Shining Cat-

Bear’ —the red panda.

16

Janet Jordan

Who Came First

Contrary to what my friend

thought, the red panda is the “real’”’

panda. It was discovered in 1821,

long before Pére David stumbled

across the large, black and white

“bei-shung” in 1869. For 48 years,

when you said “panda,” you meant

“shining cat-bear.”

It is the original in another way,

too: The fossil record shows that

creatures remarkably like today’s red

panda existed in eastern Europe,

Pakistan, southern China, Washing-

ton state, and Wyoming millions of

years before anything similar to the

giant panda appeared.

This tells us that if the giant and

red pandas are related—a question

still in some doubt—their common

ancestor was an animal that closely

resembled today’s red panda.

There is no way to authoritatively

trace millions of years of evolution,

but | interpret the evidence this way:

Millions of years ago, there was a

group of animals that shared many of

the characteristics of today’s red

pandas. From this group of animals,

the raccoon lineage evolved in the

New World in one direction, be-

coming along the way such species

as the coatimundi and the ring-tailed

cat. The giant panda lineage went in

another direction, but because of

rapid specialization evolved into

relatively few species, and all but

one died out. The red panda lineage

evolved in the same direction as the

giant panda’s, but not to the same

extreme degree, and today’s red

panda remains little changed from its

remote ancestor. The two species of

pandas are now found only in the

Orient.

Te

My Elusive Quarry

The red panda is found in steep,

forested terrain 7,000 to 13,000 feet

above sea level throughout the main

range of the Himalayas where human

disturbances are minimal. Its largest

populations are believed to be in the

remote regions of southern China,

northern Burma, the tiny kingdom of

Bhutan, and Nepal.

In the fall of 1979, supported by a

FONZ Conservation and Field Re-

search Grant, | went to Nepal in

search of the elusive red panda. My

purpose was to study the red panda

and its ecological requirements.

| spent several weeks in Tiru Dava,

a part of eastern Nepal in the western

watershed of the Trisuli River where

human encroachment is minimal.

When thinking of Nepal, one visu-

alizes vast mountain ranges— thickly

forested, undisturbed, too challeng-

ing for human habitation. In fact, a

hardy breed of mountain folk have

cleared great forest tracts for cul-

tivation, the grazing of domestic

stock, firewood, and building mater-

ial. In some regions only small hilltop

patches of forest are left, connected

by sparsely forested ridges or isolated

like islands. In many cases, even the

remaining forests have been irrepar-

ably altered through selective cutting

and the browsing of goats and cattle.

In Tiru Dava, cultivation is inten-

sive up to 7,000 feet, even though the

slopes are achingly steep. From

7,000 to 9,000 feet, the forest be-

comes thicker and consists primarily

of pine. At 9,000 feet one encounters

primeval forests of rhododendron

and oak and, of course, bamboo. The

rhododendrons are huge—some with

trunks two feet in diameter that stand

18

30 feet high and all but block out the

light.

Both rhododendrons and oaks are

covered with thick mats of lichen

and mosses. These may be the key to

the puzzle of the red _ panda’s

unusual coloration—white face,

chestnut body, black belly, ringed

tail. The mosses are a deep chestnut

color, and they grow on the trees in

large clumps and hanging strands

that often seem uncannily like the

body and tail of a sleeping red

panda. The lichens are white and

often grow on the lumps of moss, as

if to mimic the face of my elusive

quarry. Dim and shifting light con-

spires to complete the illusion. A

panda in these trees would be easy to

overlook, and I’m sure | did so.

At 10,000 feet, the rhododendrons

get smaller. The cloud cover is al-

most perpetual. Maple trees are re-

placed by chestnuts, and the forests

become taller and more open, with

hemlock and fir predominating. Here

too, the lichens and mosses cover the

trees, giving them an eerie gnarled

appearance in the misty air.

Above 10,000 feet, the rhododen-

drons become smaller still, and the

forest community becomes fir, larch,

juniper, and cedar. By 13,000 feet,

the treeline is marked by the last

stunted junipers and the beginning of

alpine meadows. It is unlikely that

red pandas venture this high except

to cross from one valley system to

another.

Bamboo, the red panda’s staple

food, is found in the moist cool for-

ests between 9,000 and 13,000 feet,

along permanent bodies of water—

in this case, spring- and snow-fed

streams. | never saw bamboo grow-

ing farther than about 100 yards from

a stream, so | believe the distribution

of the red panda is highly depen-

dent on the mountains’ network of

permanent water courses.

The Inner Panda

Although bamboo is an important

food for the red panda, the panda

also eats legumes, fruits, wild straw-

berries, beech nuts, certain leaves, in-

sects, birds, and small mammals.

Red pandas are related to carni-

vores, but differ from true meat-

eaters in that, like the giant pandas,

they are specialized for eating large

quantities of vegetation. This special-

ization can best be seen in their

molars, which are wide and strong

and have many cusps or ridges, well

suited to grinding down the tough

bamboo leaves and stalks. Carni-

vores’ molars are smaller, for they

need only shear the meat from the

carcass and give it a perfunctory

chew. Most animals that eat both

meat and vegetation have molars

that are slightly larger than those of

the strictly carnivorous—but not as

much as the red panda’s are.

The red panda has another adapta-

tion for bamboo-eating that is like

the giant panda’s—an enlarged bone

in the wrist. This enlarged bone acts

as a pseudothumb to help the panda

pick up and grasp its favorite food.

Very little has been learned about

the natural habits of the red panda

since it was discovered. This is partly

because it is found in a remote part

of the world, where few naturalists

could visit until fairly recently. It is

also because the red panda is a

small, solitary, nocturnal animal of

secretive habits—thus adding to the

difficulty of studying it in the wild.

Most of the scanty details of its

natural history come from anecdotal

accounts by travellers or naturalists

who stumbled across lone pandas

while seeking other game.

My captive studies at the National

Zoo have given clues to some

aspects of the red pandas’ natural

history. For example, red pandas are

basically solitary. But on the other

hand, a male and a female will live

together peacefully year-round—

although when the cubs are born

males definitely act as if they’d rather

be far away! Despite this forced

tolerance, attempts to keep more

than a pair of adults together have

usually resulted in much aggression.

At one zoo, females in the same en-

closure even kidnapped one

another’s cubs.

Sexual maturity in red pandas

comes at about a year and a half,

and they may stay reproductively

active for more than ten years—

although it is doubtful that they even

live this long in the wild. The cubs

grow quickly and are weaned at

about three months. Our data sug-

gest that they leave their mothers

during the breeding season after

they’re born, as it is then that the

mother and the amorous male be-

come somewhat less than tolerant of

the cubs.

Red pandas mark their territories

by rubbing a mixture of urine and

anal scent gland secretions onto trees

and rocks with a circular movement

of their bottoms. They almost always

scent-mark on the ground, although

one acrobat was seen scent-marking

a branch while hanging underneath

it! The animals also advertise their

Donna Grosvenor

NZP Office of Education

Face like a fox’s, tail like a

raccoon’s, the chestnut-

colored red panda shares the

giant panda’s homeland, but

its wider range extends to

India, Nepal, Burma, Sikkim,

and Bhutan.

19

The red panda at birth weighs between four and five ounces—the same as the

giant panda. But while the red panda grows to an adult weight of five to ten

pounds, the adult giant panda is a hefty 300 pounds!

presence by leaving a trail of scent

from glands on the soles of their feet.

This is a most remarkable device, as

far as | know unique among car-

nivores.

Also unique is the red panda’s

habit of testing scent trails and novel

objects with the underside of the tip

of the tongue. In that area are

specially modified papillae. The

panda touches an object with its

tongue, then withdraws the tongue

into the mouth briefly; then it repeats

20

the process again and again. On a

number of occasions when we have

introduced new animals into an

enclosure, the home animal is so

busy tongue-testing the scent trails of

the new animal that it takes no notice

of the “intruder’—even when the

intruder is only inches away.

Fighting is rare, but vicious when it

happens. Play occurs only between

cubs or parents and cubs. Playing

animals invite participation by rising

up on their hind legs, raising their

forepaws over their heads, and

slapping the ground.

Red pandas tolerate the cold very

well, but suffer in excessive heat and

humidity. But even on the hottest

days, their aversion to water keeps

them from imitating the giant panda

and beating the heat with a nice, long

soak. Rather, they stretch out along a

branch, exposing as much of them-

selves as they can to the breezes, and

pant like a dog.

The Shining Cat-Bear

The future of the red panda in the

wild is uncertain. There are no esti-

mates of numbers, or any more de-

tailed studies than my own of the

panda’s ecological requirements. It is

my guess that in Nepal populations

are isolated, small, and diminishing.

There are few red pandas in Sikkim

and Assam, but | suspect and hope

there are still healthy nearby popu-

lations in Bhutan, northern Burma,

and southern China.

The red panda’s well-being in the

wild depends wholly on how much

human populations intrude on their

habitat and on how many animals

are killed for their fur or captured for

the local and international pet trade.

Whether it is closely related to the

giant panda or not, the enigmatic red

panda is a zoological oddity in its

own right that for years has eluded

study and defied attempts at classi-

fication.

But | don’t expect that the red

panda will ever be as popular as its

big, black and white cousin is. A low

profile is the red panda’s style—

and why change a good thing after

five million years of success?O

ZOONEWS

A Washington Soap Opera

The organ music swells. The voice

of the announcer says:

It has been going on for eight

years now. When will the saga

end? Is Hsing-Hsing really an inept

lover? Has Ling-Ling finally reach-

ed her point of total frustration?

Will there ever be the pitter-patter

of baby panda feet in the National

Zoo? What will the future hold for

our two black and white celebri-

ties? Are they doomed to be the

butts of bad jokes forever?

Over the past three years, every-

one on the Zoo staff felt optimistic

that Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling would

produce offspring. We had a lot of

excuses for their apparent inability to

breed—and we'd heard a lot more

rather farther-fetched explanations.

Some of these excuses and explana-

tions were: The introduction periods

were too long. The _ introduction

periods were too short. They were

introduced when they were too

young, and they developed bad

mating habits out of ignorance. They

weren't introduced soon enough.

Their diet wasn’t right. They were

shy. They didn’t want to breed in

Doctors Mitchell Bush, Bruce Beehler,

and David Wildt attend a slumbering

Hsing-Hsing. Although Hsing-Hsing’s 1980

contribution to Ling-Ling’s insemination

proved less potent than that taken in 1979,

his “knock-down” did provide much val-

uable medical data.

Jessie Cohen, NZP Office of Graphics and Exhibits

front of a crowd. They didn’t like

each other. Hsing-Hsing was sterile.

They were both males. They were

both females. And so on.

For what we thought might be the

real problems, we did what we could.

We thought they needed more time—

we gave them time. The Chinese sug-

gested that they might be too heavy

—we put them both on diets and

they both lost weight. Ling-Ling went

from a plump 296 pounds to a svelte

242. Their diet wasn’t proper? — well,

we didn’t give them oysters and

champagne, but we did provide the

optimum vitamins, minerals, and

proteins, plus lots of vitamin E. Were

they being given too much time? We

shortened the encounter periods.

Nothing seemed to work. Why

wouldn’t they breed?

Who could have known that the

problem wasn’t physical, but psycho-

logical? From all indications, the

difficulty lies with Hsing-Hsing: The

body is willing, but the mind is

zeroed in on the wrong target. (Ed.

note: The article that follows, “A

Panda’s Good Breeding,” discusses

this.)

In the years since the pandas came

to the Zoo, there have been a

number of major developments.

There has been a marked change in

both animals’ behavior patterns.

Hsing-Hsing became more aggressive

and began to dominate the en-

counters more and more. And the

an

more domineering Hsing-Hsing be-

came, the more we hoped that Ling-

Ling would develop a corresponding

submissiveness.

In fact, Ling-Ling did seem to be

getting more submissive in 1977. In

1977, 1978, and 1979, Hsing-Hsing

became very persistent about pur-

suing Ling-Ling when she seemed to

want to end the encounters. Pre-

viously, at the first cold shoulder

Hsing-Hsing would turn and run

away—now he would back off a

short distance and then resume his

advances.

In addition to Hsing-Hsing’s new

aggressiveness, in 1978 we observed

for the first time two related phe-

nomena: jaw clopping and loud

growling. Whether these noises came

from frustration on Hsing-Hsing’s

part or whether they are part of the

normal behavior of the mature male

panda in rut is debatable—but we

believe that they’re normal.

In any event, in the period 1977-

1979, we knew that the two pandas

were both sexually mature, and we

felt breeding had to be imminent.

So much for feelings!

On the other hand, we weren't

relying on feelings alone. As early as

1978, we suspected that artificial

insemination might become neces-

sary. In June 1979, planning ahead,

we electroejaculated Hsing-Hsing

and froze the semen in_ liquid

nitrogen. Then in spring 1980, after

Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling again

failed to mate, we were ready to try

artificial insemination. The article

following this one is a detailed dis-

cussion of what we did and why.

The artificial insemination was

definitely successful in that semen

eo

from the male was injected into the

female’s uterus at the apparent peak

of heat. Also, a great deal of bio-

medical data was gathered from both

animals. While each animal was im-

mobile, blood and skin samples were

taken for chromosome counts; secre-

tions from the scent gland areas

were taken for our continuing study

of scent-marking in animals; blood

pressures were checked, plus respir-

ation and heart rates. (Hsing-Hsing’s

blood pressure was 160 systolic; his

heart rate was 180, his respiration 20

breaths per minute, and his tem-

perature 99°. Ling-Ling’s blood

pressure was 160; her heart rate was

160, her respiration between 35 and

40. breaths per minute, and her tem-

perature 99.2°) In each case, the

immobilization had no side effects,

and both pandas resumed _ their

normal activity levels within three

days.

While Ling-Ling’s behavior gave

every indication she was in_ full

estrous, we had no way of knowing

whether or not she was ovulating. If

the insemination was successful, we

won't know for quite a while. And so

the saga continues: /s Ling-Ling “with

panda’? Will she be a good mother?

And what about Hsing-Hsing—will

he become the first giant panda to be

a father by artificial insemination in

the western hemisphere?

The organ music swells. The voice

of the announcer says:

And what about next year? If

nothing happens this year, will we

try again?

Stay tuned, folks. The rea/ soap

opera is about to begin.

by William A. Xanten, Jr.

A Panda’s Good Breeding

As arule, a couple’s sex life is their

own business. Moreover, the last

time there was passionate public

interest in a pregnancy was when

Lucille Ball gave birth on national

television in 1951. But both rules

were broken in 1980 at the National

Zoo when Ling-Ling, the darling of

Washington’s animal lovers, was ar-

tificially inseminated in May.

The decision to artificially in-

seminate was not lightly reached.

The procedure called for anesthetiz-

ing Hsing-Hsing (Chinese for, roughly,

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star’) once

and Ling-Ling (Chinese for, roughly,

“Jingle Bells”) twice. Anesthesia for

large and exotic animals is still a

developing science. Moreover, al-

though the time for the insemination

was carefully determined to provide

the best possible chances that there

would be an egg present and ready to

be fertilized, no one can be certain

whether the ovum was_ actually

there.

It is believed that female pandas

ovulate only once a year, and are

fertile for only a 12-hour period

(compare this to human females,

who ovulate 12 times a year and are

fertile for a good two weeks each

month).

Artificial insemination of pandas

has been attempted five times before

by the Chinese, but it has succeeded

only twice—and only one cub has

survived infancy. There have been a

total of 16 giant panda births in

captivity—again, all in China—but

ten of the infants succumbed to

disease soon after birth.

However, captive propagation of

the rare giant panda has become

close to urgent recently. The two

strains of bamboo that are giant

pandas’ principal food in the wild,

the umbrella and fountain bamboos,

blossom and die out every 100 years,

leaving only seedlings for three or

four years. In 1980 these bamboos

are dying out, and the Chinese have

to date found more than 150 giant

panda carcasses—all dead of starva-

tion.

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were a

gift to the United States from the

People’s Republic of China. Brought

to the Zoo in April 1972, both pandas

were born in the wild. Ling-Ling is

thought to be about 10% to 11%

years old, and Hsing-Hsing 9.

Unlike the panda couple given to

France by the Chinese, which turned

out not to be able to breed since

both were male, Ling-Ling and Hsing-

Hsing are definitely female and male.

But there are still breeding problems.

“For the first five years, it looked

like Hsing-Hsing was. sexually

immature,” said Dr. Devra Kleiman,

a reproductive biologist who heads

the Zoo’s Office of Zoological Re-

search. ‘But in 1977 it became clear

that both pandas were sexually

mature, and in 1979 it became

obvious that they were having

problems.”

In the wild, the solitary panda

mates only once a year. The Chinese

believe that—particularly in capti-

vity, where animals live longer and

less strenuous lives—the giant panda

can breed as late as 20.

Sadly, ignorance has combined

with inexperience to ruin the couple’s

technique. To begin with, Hsing-

Hsing is what Dr. John Eisenberg,

Despite four tries at mating during 1980, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling couldn‘t “get it

together.” Commented Dr. Theodore Reed, Director of the Zoo, “She was will-

ing and he was anxious, but they just couldn’t coordinate their efforts.”

NZP’s Assistant Director for Animal

Programs, kindly calls ‘“maladroit.”

Hsing-Hsing has what it takes, but he

doesn’t know what to do with it and

takes too long trying.

One year when Ling-Ling had a

sore paw, she discovered that Hsing-

Hsing need not necessarily be fought

off when he persevered too long in

his attentions: She could discourage

him merely by toppling onto her side.

Hsing-Hsing, frustrated of his proper

outlet, ejaculated on _ Ling-Ling’s

back.

By now it appears that, even if

Hsing-Hsing could be introduced to

an experienced female and taught

proper mating techniques, Ling-Ling

has learned the wrong responses and

would have to learn not to roll when

she tires of a male’s attentions.

Dr. Kleiman and Dr. Mitchell

Bush, the Zoo’s chief veterinarian,

regretfully concluded in 1979 that

the pandas would need outside help

for their 1980 breeding attempt. In

June 1979, they began preparations

for artificial insemination.

The first step was to bring to

Washington Dr. Stephen Seager. Dr.

Seager is an associate director of the

Institute of Comparative Medicine at

Texas A & M University and the

Baylor College of Medicine in Hous-

ton. A veterinarian, he is one of the

very few experts in the electro-

ejaculation, semen storage, and art-

ificial insemination of exotic ani-

25

mals. He and two colleagues, also

reproductive biologists, were brought

to Washington with the aid of monies

from FONZ’s Visiting Lecturer Fund.

In June 1979, Hsing-Hsing was

electroejaculated twice over a three-

day period. His semen was tested for

potency and then frozen immediately

by being placed in liquid nitrogen

and stored at minus 320 degrees Fahr-

enheit. Fresh panda semen is be-

lieved to stay potent for 12 hours at

the most. Hsing-Hsing’s frozen semen

was checked frequently over the last

year for viability, since it was not

known how long frozen panda semen

might last. (In fact, it did last until

May 1980.)

Early in May 1980, Ling-Ling be-

gan to go into her once-a-year heat:

she began bleating and walking back-

wards, and her scent-markings— be-

lieved to contain hormones that

would notify any nearby male of her

readiness for action—came more

frequently.

On May 15, Hsing-Hsing was

allowed into Ling-Ling’s enclosure for

the first of four fruitless meetings.

The encounters, scheduled for dawn

and dusk—when giant pandas are

most active—were marked by ag-

gressive play, wrestling, boxing,

bleating, and nips. Commented Dr.

Theodore Reed, Director of the Zoo,

“She was willing and he was anxious,

but they just couldn’t coordinate

their efforts.” Although Hsing-Hsing

tried a number of times, there was no

actual breeding.

So at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, May

17, Hsing-Hsing was immobilized and

electroejaculated once again. About

3 cc.s of semen was taken. But only

10 percent of the sperm was alive; a

24

more normal sample would have

been 60 to 80 percent. Dr. Bush

suspects that the low sperm count

was the result of an ejaculation

during the couple’s unsuccessful

NZP Office of Graphics and Exhibits

mating try that dawn—since a male

panda can apparently ejaculate only

once in 24 hours. (This has been the

Zoo’s experience with Hsing-Hsing.-)

Given the less than useful fresh

semen obtained, the Zoo decided to

use its frozen semen, which was 80

percent alive.

At 3 p.m., once Hsing-Hsing had

completely recovered, Ling-Ling was

anesthetized and inseminated. Ling-

Ling was immobilized and insemi-

nated a second time on Sunday, May

18. A total of 800 to 900 million

sperm were injected into Ling-Ling’s

uterus via a thin metal tube called a

cannula. Her posterior was elevated

so that gravity might help the sperm

travel up to the top of the uterus near

the fallopian tubes, where we hope

the egg was waiting.

By Monday, both animals seemed

completely normal, and _ Ling-Ling

even began showing a decrease in

estrous, which may be a hopeful sign.

No one will be sure whether or not

Ling-Ling is pregnant until her 118-

to 168-day gestation period is al-

most up. Urine samples will be taken

frequently and checked for any

change in hormone levels that might

be indicators. Other indicators of

pregnancy include a decrease in ap-

petite and, two weeks before birth, a

slight swelling of the mammary

glands, reddening of the nipples, and

loss of hair, plus what Dr. Reed calls

“denning behavior’—attempts to

build or find a safe and secluded spot

to give birth.

Because any certainty of preg-

nancy will come so close to actual

birth, the Zoo plans to proceed just

as if it were certain the insemination

“took.” The Zoo will provide all the

construction materials Ling-Ling may

need to den, including bamboo,

which she may want to have in her

nest. A soundproof wall will be put

up to protect Ling-Ling’s den from

noisy visitors. The only observer will

be a concealed closed-circuit TV

camera to help protect Ling-Ling

from any mishap.

Any rejoicing today will be pre-

mature. As indicated, the Chinese

have tried artificial insemination five

times, and succeeded only twice.

There is a chance that Ling-Ling was

not impregnated. If she was, the em-

bryo may fail to implant. If the baby

is born, Ling-Ling’s lack of maternal

experience or the weakness of the

cub’s natural defenses against

bacteria may result in the worst.

Whatever happens, the Zoo has

taken well-thought-out and careful

steps to bring about our hoped-for

baby panda. If Ling-Ling does give

birth, there will be “panda-monium”’

for sure! O

Panda

continued from page 7.

——————

Little is known of how the giant

panda reproduces in the wild. Ac-

cording to early accounts, there is an

annual mating season in April. Males

were reported to fight among them-

selves and establish rights to a fe

male by “roaring” persistently while

the female watched nearby.

Captive females come into heat in

the spring for ten days to three

weeks; they also have a briefer and

less intense autumn heat. Chinese

zoologists say that the fall breeding

season occurs in the wild in females

that have not become pregnant the

previous spring. As for the “roaring,”

captive pandas of both sexes have

been heard making a variety of bark-

ing and bleating noises during mating

season— but no other noise.

After successful mating and a ges-

tation period of 118 to 168 days, fe-

male giant pandas give birth, usually

to a single cub that weighs only 4 to

5 ounces—little more than a stick of

butter! The mother sometimes

carries her infant with her as she

travels in search of food, holding it to

her breast with one forepaw. Some-

times, too, especially as the infant

gets older, she may leave it behind in

a hollow tree when she is feeding.

The young panda grows rapidly,

increasing its weight 25 to 30 times in

the first ten weeks. After ten months,

its weight has reached a hefty 60

pounds— about 200 times its weight

at. birth! Giant pandas have lived

more than 20 years in captivity.

Early in 1980, Chinese scientists

began discovering dozens of panda

carcasses in the wild. Concern grew

as it became clear that the giant

pandas were dying because of a

quirk of nature. The two species of

bamboo that pandas feed on, the

umbrella and fountain bamboos,

bloom only once, at about 100-year

intervals. Only the seeds from the

blossoms remain, and it takes several

years for the new generation of bam-

boo to become ripe enough to feed a

panda. Chinese scientists estimate

that perhaps as much as one fourth

of the entire wild population of giant

pandas (estimated at 400 to 1,000)

has already died of starvation.

Because of the loss of the giant

pandas, which the Chinese regard as

their national symbol, a joint com-

mittee of Chinese and western scien-

tists has been formed to search for

ways to help. Dr. George B. Schaller,

director of the New York Zoological

Society’s Center for Field Biology and

Conservation, will head the American

scientific delegation and set up a

long-term research program. Dr.

Schaller and his team will be the first

westerners since the 1930s to be ad-

mitted to Szechuan province to study

the giant panda in its natural habitat.

Because of the giant panda’s

mountainous wild habitat, it has

been difficult to find out how the re-

maining animals are faring or whether

the species is in danger. The predica-

ment of the giant panda is a reminder

of the precarious state of all wildlife

and our dependence on each other

for survival. O

CONTRIBUTORS

The Giant Panda:

This article was adapted from a 1975 story, ‘Panda Lifestyles,” by AUSTIN

HUGHES, who was editor of ZooGoer from 1972 to 1975.

The Lady and the Panda:

MARGERY FACKLAM is a freelance writer based in Clarence Center, New York. She

became interested in Su Lin and Ruth Harkness when she was researching her recent

book, Wild Animals, Gentle Women.

Red Pandas at the National Zoo:

RONN BRACKIN is a Washington-based writer whose interest in animal themes was

bolstered by recent volunteer keeper work with red pandas at the National Zoo.

In Search of the Fire Cat:

MILES ROBERTS has been with the National Zoo for ten years. He spent several

months in Nepal in 1979 researching the red panda in its natural habitat, supported

by a grant from FONZ.

ZooNews— A Washington Soap Opera:

WILLIAM A. XANTEN, JR. started at the Zoo in 1956 as a keeper in the Bird House.

His affection for Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling began on April 16, 1972, with their

arrival at the Zoo, when he was associate curator of mammals.

25

Friends

of the

National

is anonprofit organization of individuals and families who

are interested in supporting Zoo programs in education,

research, and conservation.

As members of FONZ, you and your family receive many

benefits — publications, discount privileges, and invitations

to special programs and activities —to make your zoo-going

more enjoyable and educational.

ZooGoer is published bimonthly by the Friends of the

National Zoo, c/o The National Zoological Park,

Washington, D.C. 20008. Third class mailing permit 44282.

Subscription as percentage of full membership dues is $4

a year. Subscription-only membership is $5 a year (extra

cost covers processing, handling, and related expenses)

and is available only to institutions or those residing outside

of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

ISSN: 0613-416X

FONZ Board of Directors, 1979-1980

Whayne S. Quin, President; John S. Brown, First Vice

President; Cecil McLelland, Second Vice President; Robert

L. Nelson, Treasurer; Sally S. Tongren, Secretary; Samuel

Biddle; Janice A. Booker; William C. Bryant; Victor Delano;

M. Anthony Gould; Al Hackl; Meldon S. Hollis, Jr.; Stephen

T. Hosmer; Julie P. Hubbard; A. José Jones; Nella Manes;

Sheila D. Minor; Roscoe M. Moore, Jr.; Monica J. Morgan;

Sylvia L. Samenow; Ross B. Simons; Julia V. Taft.

FONZ Staff

Sabin Robbins, Executive Director; Dennis Baker, Associate

Director; Donna Schlegel, Volunteer & Educational Services;

- Mary W. Matthews, Publications; Fran Bernstein, Member-

ship; Lonnie Wornom, Merchandising; Kevin Polen,

Transportation. Debbie Oliver, Acting, Food Service.

Zoo Staff

Dr. Theodore H. Reed, Director; Dr. John Eisenberg,

Assistant Director for Animal Programs; Mr. Gaetano Calise,

Assistant Director for Support Services; Dr. Robert Hoage,

Special Assistant to the Director; Mr. Jaren Horsley,

Executive Assistant, Office of Animal Programs.

Department Heads

Dr. John Eisenberg, Acting, Mammalogy; Dr. Eugene Morton,

Acting, Ornithology; Dr. Dale Marcellini, Herpetology;

Ms. Judy White, Education; Dr. Mitchell Bush, Animal

Health; Dr. Richard Montali, Pathology; Dr. Devra Kleiman,

Zoological Research; Dr. Christen Wemmer, Front Royal

Conservation Center; Mr. Donald Muddiman, Construction

Management; Mr. Emmanuel Petrella, Facilities Manage-

ment; Mr. Robert Mulcahy, Graphics and Exhibits; Mr.

Samuel Middleton, Police and Safety.

26

B@K NEWS

A Giant Panda Bibliography

The giant panda—cuddlesome

looking if not actually caressable—

may be the best-loved and _least-

known animal in the world. Until a

few months ago when George

Schaller and a team of American

scientists were invited to China, no

westerner had been allowed into the

panda’s remote and forbidding

homeland since the 1930s.

As a result, much of the litera-

ture on the giant panda is either

repetitive, irrelevant, or nonsens-

ical. Even the best of the books avail-

able, listed below, contain second-

hand material or wide gaps. On the

other hand, most are entertainingly

written and as comprehensive as

their difficult subject will allow.

Some of the books below may be out

of print and available only through

your public library.

Brocklehurt, H.C. The Giant Panda

(London: Field), 1938.

!Coeur, Eleanor R. Biography of a Gi-

ant Panda (New York: Putnam),

1975)

Collins, Larry R., and James K. Page,

Jr. Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing:

Year of the Panda (New York:

Anchor Press/Doubleday), 1973.

Cook, Susannah. A Closer Look at

Bears and Pandas (New York:

Watts), 1976.

Davis, J.A. Pandas (New York: Cur-

tis Books), 1973.

Gross, Ruth B. A Book About Pandas

(New York: Dial, 1973; School

Book Service, 1974). For grades

K-3.

Harkness, Ruth. The Baby. Giant

Panda (New York: Carrick and

Evans), 1938.

Harkness, Ruth. The Lady and the

Panda (London: Nicholson & Wat-

son), 1938.

*Hiss, Anthony. The Giant Panda Book

(New York: Western Publications),

1973. For grades 3-up.

Loesby, R. Five Giant Pandas (New

York: Field), 1938.

*Martin, Lynne. The Giant Panda (New

York: Addison-Wesley), 1975. For

grades 3-6.

*Morris, Ramona, and Desmond

Morris. Men and Pandas (New

York: McGraw-Hill), 1966.

Rau, Margaret. The Giant Panda at

Home (New York: Knopf), 1977.

For grades 3-up.

Roosevelt, Theodore Jr., and Kermit

Roosevelt. Trailing the Giant Panda

(New York: Scribner’s), 1929.

Sheldon, William G. The Wilderness

Home of the Giant Panda (Amherst:

University of Massachusetts Press),

1975.

Waring, R.A., and Ruth Harkness.

Su-Lin, The Real Story of a Baby

Giant Panda (Chicago: Rand Mc-

Nally), 1937.

*Available for purchase at FONZ’S

Bookstore/Gallery in the Education

Building of the National Zoo.O

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