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Tai Shan turns three as US-China "panda friendship" strengthens

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-09 16:52

WASHINGTON - One day before his 3rd birthday on July 9, Tai Shan, as usual, lay down for a nap after feasting on bamboo, with his belly up and both legs hanging from down the rocks, oblivious to spectators' marveling on the other side of the window.

Giant panda Tai Shan is seen in this file photo. The cub was the first offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the second pair of giant pandas that the Washington National zoo received from China, who were both born in Wolong, Sichuan province. [Xinhua]

He probably has no idea just how much joy he has brought to visitors to the Washington National Zoo and also how much of a push he has given to the so-called US-China "panda friendship" in the past three years.

But someone does.

"It has been a wonderful three years since his birth here in the national zoo," Lisa Stevens, a veteran curator of the National Zoo Giant Panda program, told Xinhua. "We call him a little rock star."

Tai Shan has been not only "quite a star," he is also one of the best goodwill ambassadors representing his species and hometown of China, Stevens said.

The cub was the first offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the second pair of giant pandas the zoo received from China, who were both born in Wolong, Sichuan province.

According to Stevens, Tai Shan is "an excellent eater" who can take in about 18 to 20 kg of food everyday, but he is now still in a normal range of weight for his age, at 185 pounds (83.25 kilograms). Regular blood tests and other health checks also show he is in great health.

Just like a human child, he is still very playful, playing with his bear toys all the time, and very interested in the adults and always trying to find out what they are doing, she said.

Considering social interaction is very important for animals when they are growing up, it would be nice to find Tai Shan a companion, Stevens said, adding the only thing the zoo can do "is to make sure he could have enrichment from a lot of toys and interaction with adults and keepers, so he is not socially isolated."

Starting work on the Giant Panda program 21 years ago, Stevens has taken care of the first panda couples China presented to the US, Ling Ling and Qing Qing.

Apart from supervising Tai Shan's growing up, she is also expecting another baby panda to be born in the zoo.

According to a zoo news release, the results of a recent test on Mei Xiang led scientists to believe it would be mid-to late-July before she either gives birth to a cub or comes to the end of a false pregnancy, which is common in giant pandas.

"What is a mystery about pandas is that we cannot tell whether she is pregnant or not," she said. "We know her (Mei Xiang's) hormone profile is good, her face looks like she is pregnant, but the only way we can make sure is looking at ultra sound scans about two weeks before the cub comes out."

Stevens said that the program staff have geared up for the pregnancy watch that needs to collect information and data for 24 hours a day, instead of 10 hours every day at the moment.

"What is different here from the situation in China is that we depend on our volunteers," she said, adding there will be about 60 people working on the pregnancy watch program in addition to more than 100 on the interpreter program.

"Tian Tian is the restless one, taking food quickly. Mei Xiang has a good deal of lying back. Tai Shan, like his dad, is very playful," said Jim Beard, a retired engineer who became a volunteer to watch pandas in December 2000.

"As an observer, you have to watch them very intensely. Get to know them as old friends although we do not integrate with them," he said.

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