Pambassador @ Zoo Madrid – January 23, 2011
Hua Zuiba was taking care of Po when I arrived at Zoo Madrid. The cubs still stay with their mother from the evening to the morning. While Hua Zuiba is taking care of one cub, the other cub stays in the crib and receives a bottle from their keepers. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding’s famous cub swapping technique made that both cubs survived since panda mothers only can take care of one cub.
Bing Xing enjoyed his time out. He was walking around, exploring his nice enclosure at Zoo Madrid. I think he is a very good looking panda. His big and round face is so nice.
The cubs receive a daily check-up. De De was the first to be checked by Chen Xian. First she weighs the cubs, De De weighs 7,7 kg. Panda cubs cannot poop by themselves in the first months of their lives. The keepers ‘help’ them by rubbing their tummies and make them poop. De De returned to the crib after his check-up.
It was time to do Po’s check-up. Deng Tao & Chen Xian went to take him at Hua Zuiba’s room. Hua Zuiba received some apples and Po came to the front of the room. You can see how he still fits through the bars, but it is becoming very difficult to do it this way. Po weighs 7,6 kg.
After their check-up Po & De De were together in the crib. These little brothers like to play with each other. It is so nice to see them have some interaction together. But now you all are wondering: who is Po and who is De De? Well if you take a good look, you will see that De De has a big round face just like their father.
While the cubs were in the crib, Hua Zuiba came outside to eat some bamboo and to walk in the sun.
Zoo Madrid offers their visitors a keeper talk. Here you can see how keeper Edu shows the cubs to the visitors while they receive many panda info from the educational staf.
Grtz Pambassador Jeroen Jacobs
