Edinburgh Zoo Pandamonium to hit Edinburgh! #1

Edinburgh Zoo --pandamonium

I believe Heini Demmer got ChiChi in exchange for a group of African animals from a Chinese Zoo.
The import of Happy, Grandma et el was also a commercial venture by the dealer concerned.
Lien-Ho, the first of the UK post-war pandas, was perhaps the first political goodwill panda; I believe her name meant 'Unity' and was supposed to symbolise/promote the accord between UK & China. I understand she was not very forhcoming as an individual, and, even as a young animal, lacked the expected charisma.
I'd better stop before I say something rude about Koalas....
 
FBBird said:
I believe Heini Demmer got ChiChi in exchange for a group of African animals from a Chinese Zoo.
The import of Happy, Grandma et el was also a commercial venture by the dealer concerned.
Lien-Ho, the first of the UK post-war pandas, was perhaps the first political goodwill panda; I believe her name meant 'Unity' and was supposed to symbolise/promote the accord between UK & China. I understand she was not very forhcoming as an individual, and, even as a young animal, lacked the expected charisma.
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Pretty sure you are absolutely correct on all counts.:)

Yes, I remember reading that Lien-Ho was a big disappointment for the reason you mention.

This Edinburgh pair will be young adults at seven years old, so well past that exuberant/mischievous stage which is often a popular conception of them. I imagine they will divide their time between feeding (munching bamboo) exercising (what is likely to soon become a stereotyped circuit) in their enclosure (see Hix's comments on the Adelaide Pandas in Australia) and resting/sleeping. Within those parameters of behaviour no doubt Edinburgh will do their best to make sure the display is both enriching for the Pandas and a good experience for visitors as well.

Some people have commented that Lions and Tigers sleep a lot in Zoos too- the difference being Pandas usually curl up in a corner and are then not very visible- which is why there can sometimes be disappointment. My advice for would-be Panda watchers is just go back later..
 
Edinburgh Zoo -- Pandamonium

Just a thought about Giant Pandas. If, according to current thinking, they are bears, why are they comparatively short-lived? Polar and the various brown bears commonly reach their thirties, and I know Spectacled [sorry, 'Andean'] Bears that are well into their twenties, but I'm not sure that any captive Panda has ever lived beyond the mid-teens. Can anyone shed a bit of light on this?
 
FBBird said:
Bears that are well into their twenties, but I'm not sure that any captive Panda has ever lived beyond the mid-teens. Can anyone shed a bit of light on this?
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Berlin Zoo's male panda 'BaoBao' is at least 32 years old now. He arrived there in 1980 having been found 'wounded' in the wild in 1979( his age then is not mentioned) Its stated he is the oldest male Panda in captivity and the oldest outside China- implying there's an even older female in China?
 
Pertinax said:
Pretty sure you are absolutely correct on all counts.:)

Some people have commented that Lions and Tigers sleep a lot in Zoos too- the difference being Pandas usually curl up in a corner and are then not very visible- which is why there can sometimes be disappointment. My advice for would-be Panda watchers is just go back later..
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You can say that about most animals. One visit to their zoo home is never enough! Koalas, as we know, curl up and sleep in a load of eucylyptus leaves and are just as difficult to see.

"Pandas-for-rent" started in the 1970s. Interestingly, something similar exists with koalas as well, although no new koalas come out of Australia and all Koalas outside of Australia are managed by San Diego currently.
 
Edinburgh Zoo -- Pandamonium

Thanks for that Pertinax -- looks like they are potentially as long lived as the rest of the bears; I think I was misled by the relatively poor longevities recorded in 'Men & Pandas', which of course only goes up to the mid-sixties and does not take into account the current presumably much improved husbandry methods.
 
Simon McGlary said:
"Pandas-for-rent" started in the 1970s. Interestingly, something similar exists with koalas as well, although no new koalas come out of Australia and all Koalas outside of Australia are managed by San Diego currently.
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Renting pandas only began around the mid-1980s. Western Germany was maybe the last country to recieve two pandas as gifts from China, in 1981 (in the 1970s the USA, the UK, Japan, France, Mexico and Spain got their famous pairs; possibly more countries did as well).

The pair that stayed for a few months at the Los Angeles Zoo around the 1984 Olympic Games (not sure if they were there during the games, before or after) was probably what started the 'pay up and get your pandas' thing; the US Government came nowhere near that arrangement and the zoo no doubt paid well for the priviledge.
 
Thinking of the area the former great ape house is in, with the huge increase in visitors expected, the pathways round that house have always been narrow and tight, especially between the back of the former stump tailed macaque enclosure and 1st outdoor enclosure.
I guess it will not just be the house and enclosures that will be overhauled, but that whole corner of the zoo.
 
FBBird said:
Just a thought about Giant Pandas. If, according to current thinking, they are bears, why are they comparatively short-lived? Polar and the various brown bears commonly reach their thirties, and I know Spectacled [sorry, 'Andean'] Bears that are well into their twenties, but I'm not sure that any captive Panda has ever lived beyond the mid-teens. Can anyone shed a bit of light on this?
Click to expand...

Pertinax said:
Berlin Zoo's male panda 'BaoBao' is at least 32 years old now. He arrived there in 1980 having been found 'wounded' in the wild in 1979( his age then is not mentioned) Its stated he is the oldest male Panda in captivity and the oldest outside China- implying there's an even older female in China?
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The book Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; From the Living Collections of the World (Richard Weigl; 2005) lists a giant panda that that was at least 35 years 7 months old (and had an estimated age of 36 years 10 months) when it died at Wuhan Zoo.

Incidentally, it also lists a spectacled bear that reached at least 38 years 4 months. (And I always call this species ‘spectacled’ not ‘Andean’ bear too.)

Digressing further, this same volume lists a spectacled bear x Asiatic black bear hybrid that was still living at the age of 28 years 9 months. (This is the only reference I know of to a hybrid between these two species.)
 
Zoo asks for help over panda costs - Scotsman.com News
Published Date: 15 January 2011
ZOO bosses are set to ask for government help over the cost of bringing two giant pandas to the Capital.

Edinburgh Zoo will have to pay millions of pounds to lease Tian Tian and Yangguang from China for a decade, it was reported today.

But private sponsors have been unable to cough up the full cost for the pair, who will be Britain's first giant pandas.

Gary Wilson, chief operating officer at the zoo, said: "We will approach the Scottish Government. We are a charity and hopefully we'll be able to fund some of this through sponsorship."

But Green MSP Robin Harper said: "The money should not come from the Scottish taxpayer."

A Scottish Government spokesman added: "We are delighted to have played our part in securing the agreement to bring giant pandas to Edinburgh Zoo and have made it clear we expect funding for the pandas to come from commercial sponsorship and other revenue sources."
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lots of silly comments from ill-informed people under the article ;)
 
Bamboo plantation to be created for pandas - Scotsman.com
16 January 2011
THEY eat shoots - and then some. A sprawling plantation of bamboo is to be created in Scotland to feed the pair of giant pandas destined for Edinburgh Zoo.

The ten-acre plantation will be stocked with five species of the plant, which grows up to four metres tall, to sustain Tian Tian and Yuangguang after they arrive this year.

The hungry duo, who were formally gifted to the UK by China last week, will need to be fed up to 100 kilos of the Asian plant every day.

Zoo staff are scouring Scotland for suitable sites for the bamboo forest, which will be planted in the coming months. Volunteers will also be asked to donate bamboo from their own gardens.

"We will need to grow a large quantity," said Iain Valentine, director of animals, conservation and education at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which owns Edinburgh Zoo. "A ten-acre site should keep us going for the entire time the pandas are with us."

The plantation will take two years to grow, forcing zoo officials to import bamboo until the pandas' larder has matured. Initially, about a tonne of bamboo is to be shipped in from Germany every fortnight.

Valentine said one option was to grow the plant at the zoo's sister park - the Highland Wildlife Park - which is located on a 230-acre site near Kingussie.

Edinburgh Zoo, which is converting a former gorilla enclosure to house the pair, has held trial runs to ensure the imported supply can be guaranteed, even during severe weather. Two pallets were imported during the cold snap in December and reached the zoo in time.

But Valentine added: "Usually, when this supplier ships the bamboo, he only has to go as far as Germany to Austria. By the time the bamboo arrived in the UK, the top part of it, which was not wrapped, had lost a lot of its moisture.

"We may decide to transport it using one of the flower carriers who travel across Europe as it may arrive in better condition."

In Berlin, zoo officials have recruited volunteers who grow bamboo in their gardens to help boost supplies. Valentine said he believed the idea could be replicated in Scotland.

"We think there are a lot of people who would want to donate their bamboo," he said, adding that some gardeners had supplied eucalyptus leaves to feed koala bears. "Once bamboo begins to grow, it really takes off, so in a lot of cases, they will be keen to get rid of it."
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As I remember Chi Chi's bamboo was grown in Cornwall and was collected by the local boy scouts who displayed a Chi Chi badge on their uniforms, I think Granada Television assisted with the finances to secure her purchase by London Zoo.
 
TARZAN said:
As I remember Chi Chi's bamboo was grown in Cornwall and was collected by the local boy scouts who displayed a Chi Chi badge on their uniforms, I think Granada Television assisted with the finances to secure her purchase by London Zoo.
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You're right about the source of ChiChi's bamboo. Interestingly some years ago at place called Lelant(?) somewhere near Falmouth (or St Ives) I saw a pub sign which featured a Giant Panda and Bamboo- presumably there was some connection? It may still be there.
 
kiang said:
Thinking of the area the former great ape house is in, with the huge increase in visitors expected, the pathways round that house have always been narrow and tight, especially between the back of the former stump tailed macaque enclosure and 1st outdoor enclosure.
I guess it will not just be the house and enclosures that will be overhauled, but that whole corner of the zoo.
Click to expand...

I was thinking how small the gloomy Public area inside the house is too- I guess they would make it 'one way' round if the Pandas were viewed inside. I'm sure there will be a major overhaul of the area generally, as you say.
 
Simon McGlary said:
"Pandas-for-rent" started in the 1970s. Interestingly, something similar exists with koalas as well, although no new koalas come out of Australia and all Koalas outside of Australia are managed by San Diego currently.
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This isn't quite true. There are about ten zoos in Japan, plus others in China (Xiangjiang Safari Park), Thailand (Chiang Mai), Singapore, Taiwan (Taipei), South Africa (Pretoria) and Israel (Gan Garoo) holding Koalas that originated from Australian collections or between themselves. Also, Riverbanks Zoo in the USA imported individuals from Japan and Australia in 2002 and 2003. Certainly all those in Europe and nearly all in the US are San Diego-owned.
 
Pertinax said:
You're right about the source of ChiChi's bamboo. Interestingly some years ago at place called Lelant(?) somewhere near Falmouth (or St Ives) I saw a pub sign which featured a Giant Panda and Bamboo- presumably there was some connection? It may still be there.
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I think I am correct in saying that the English translation of the name Chi Chi is unfortunately not very complimentary. I had this confirmed to me recently by a Chinese friend of mine, apparently the name Chi Chi translates into "naughty young lady" and that is being polite!
 
further to post #112:
Zoo visitors urged to bring in their own bamboo to beat panda feeding problem - Scotsman.com News
It's set to turn the zoo rule book on its head.

After years of being told not to feed the animals, the public is to be asked to help provide nourishment for Edinburgh's new attractions.

The impending arrival of giant pandas Tian Tian and Yangguang has given bosses a headache in sourcing the 30kg of bamboo which the pair will munch through every day.

That means Edinburgh residents could be asked to bring in any bamboo growing in their gardens.

Zoo bosses are preparing for the arrival of the pandas after the agreement was confirmed this week following years of negotiations with Chinese authorities.

Hundreds of panda lovers have already contacted the zoo to pledge sponsorship to "adopt" the animals, and work to convert the former gorilla enclosure which will house them is set to get under way by the end of the month, with the aim of welcoming the pandas by the end of the year.

An evergreen forest will be created within the enclosure, complete with a climbing structure, in a bid to mirror their natural habitat as closely as possible.

Zoo bosses also revealed they are considering creating a bamboo nursery on site or elsewhere - possibly at the zoo's sister attraction the Highland Wildlife Park - in order to cut transportation costs of sourcing it from other countries.

Gary Wilson, the zoo's chief operating officer, said they have already been looking at a number of options, including asking city residents who grow bamboo to donate some.

He said: "We know that there's a very large nursery in Germany which supplies to Spanish zoos.

"We have also spoken to a nursery in England which used to supply to London Zoo so we will probably take some bamboo from them.

"San Diego uses its population to supply bamboo for its zoo and takes two or three stems from each resident who has signed up on a rotational basis.

"It may well be a possibility to use the people of Edinburgh in the same way. A lot of people now plant decorative bamboo in their gardens.

"We have also been testing planting bamboo on site. The closer to home that we get it the better, because that cuts out transportation costs.

"If we transported bamboo from Europe, it would cost £70,000 per year."

The pandas - which will be the first to reside in the UK for 17 years - will be brought over on a transportation plane and then driven to Edinburgh in a specially-equipped vehicle.

Their arrival is set to boost visitor numbers to the attraction dramatically, with zoo bosses estimating that numbers could double to more than a million. When pandas were introduced at Adelaide Zoo in Australia, visitor numbers soared by 70 per cent.

Mr Wilson added: "We have had a massive amount of people wanting to sponsor the pandas. We've had hundreds of calls from all over Britain." Edinburgh Zoo will become one of only a handful of zoos in the western hemisphere to care for giant pandas.

It will join the four zoos in North America that currently house them, with others in Mexico City, Berlin, Vienna and Madrid.
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UrMumzAGoat said:
No mention of Adelaide at the end of the article?
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If you look at the paragraph above, it's talking about Western hemisphere zoos (taken loosely to mean Americas/Europe).
 
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