Guess who chased a bird today?!
Thursday, 21 January 2010 10:59
Hi guys,
Well, since my last blog lots has been going on. Wang Wang and Funi have been going outside! We are all very excited that they are able to freely move about their inside and outside exhibits everyday now.
Wang Wang has taken it all in his stride and shown that he really is a confident male. He loves going in and out constantly during the day, even when it is hot. And what a water boy! He loves it! It is constant, he sits in it all the time. We have noticed that he is becoming extremely active when he is out in the exhibit. Today he was even chasing a bird!!! So much for the assumption that pandas are lazy animal and sleep all day!
We actually think that his behaviour is possibly due to his hormone levels changing since he has arrived in Australia. It is only a hypothesis for now though. Because he has moved from winter in China to summer in Australia he has “jumped ahead” half a year in seasons. None of us truly know what is going to happen with either Wang Wang or Funi’s maturity and hormones over the next few years because, as I said in my last blog, this is the first time that there have been pandas in the southern hemisphere. It is really fascinating to see him though and this has just happened since he has had access to the outside. So we think our boy is already growing up - I guess we just wait and see what happens next!
Funi, our little princess, is taking a little longer to settle in. For such an outgoing, playful animal we were all quite surprised to see her be very shy of her exhibit. All the new smells and sounds…it would be a lot for the little lady to take in! Every day she shows us progress with her moving further out in to the exhibit. We are encouraging her by putting all of her favourite foods out there to make the exhibit a lot more inviting for her and also giving her access when there is no public around.
Talk to you all later!
Simone
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when his mum dide
Eva Yang
said:
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... Funi is quite indoorsy. When she was in Sichuan the keeper had to hug her and dragged her out for fresh air...  |
Simone
said:
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... Hi Laura The guides and Paul, our head security man, work so hard to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for all of you as well as making it nice and relaxing for Wang Wang and Funi. They are always letting people know just how important it is to stay quiet when around the pandas, as the pandas don’t like too much noise. They also try to help people with turning off the flashes on their cameras. This is a big one as it can be quite frightening for Wang Wang and Funi when a flash goes off, especially when they are behind the glass. So just want to say thanks to the staff out there on the front line… you're doing a great job! Simone |
Laura
said:
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... Hi Simone, I love the pandas, but I am worried about their wellbeing. how are the pandas coping with all the noisy crowds, and are you reminding visitors to be quiet while they settle in? People forget that these are wild animals. |
brenda
said:
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great viewing them outside I visited wang wang and Funi yesterday morning at the 9:15 slot and was so fortunate to see both pandas out and about. Wang wang is very confident and just loves his water. Funi was a little shy at first but she did stay outside for quite a while eating bamboo and checking out some of the smells. She did go indoors once she heard the simangs. |
Jessy
said:
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... Please kindly post the video of Wang Wang chased the bird. I do hope you caught his action on vid. Surely it will be fun to see. |
Jessy
said:
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... I think perhaps you need to build a swimming pool for "waterboy" Wang Wang to see whether he can swim too.  Can a panda swim? |
