PANDA Extravaganza
Cub Confidential subscribers, enter to live your dream! The PANDA Extravaganza Sweepstakes opened today for your chance to win an all-expenses-paid panda experience of a lifetime. The sweepstakes will randomly select a single winner for an exclusive behind-the-scenes encounter for two in the giant panda nursery, VIP participation for two in the cubs’ 100 Day Naming Celebration, round-trip airfare, two nights at W Downtown-Atlanta, dinner for two at BLT Steak Atlanta, and a spa package for two at Bliss Atlanta! What are you waiting for? Enter now on the Zoo Atlanta website or on Zoo Atlanta’s Facebook page. #ZAPandaWIN.
Entrants must provide a name, email address, mailing address and telephone number to enroll. No purchase is necessary. Participants must be 18 years old or older and citizens or permanent legal residents of the 50 U.S. states. The winner will be contacted and announced by Zoo Atlanta
We can’t get enough of PandaCam! All day, every day, 24/7 panda! But it can be hard to see Lun Lun and her cubs at night. Why does the PandaCam appear dark after dark? Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder, PhD, explains:
“The nursery staff turns off most of the lights in the giant panda building at night. They only leave on some very dim lights, so that they can see enough to feed Lun Lun overnight. The camera in the nest box den has infrared capability. So it is possible to have an image without light in the area, but the image is much dimmer than it would be if all the building lights are on. We think it’s good for Lun Lun and the other pandas to have a regular day/night lighting schedule as much as possible. So we try to have as much darkness as possible overnight.”
It’s so great being able to watch the cubs grow right before our eyes. But how is mom doing? Rebecca keeps a close eye on Lun Lun and has been monitoring her post-birth behavior:
“Lun Lun continues to maintain her weight well. She is still a bit above what we consider her ideal weight, which is great since she is feeding two hungry cubs. Her appetite for bamboo has increased in the last two weeks. It’s nice to see her sitting in a pile of bamboo munching away. The cubs are generally quiet now when she is away, so she can relax a little and take her time to eat bamboo. She is mostly eating leaves as are Yang Yang, Xi Lan and Po. Giant pandas eat different parts of the bamboo plant depending on the season and species of bamboo. Our giant pandas tend to eat the stalk or culm more than the leaves. It’s nice when they eat leaves, because it’s easier and less time consuming to clean up the leftover bamboo. This helps now that there are six giant pandas in the building!”
Good for Lun Lun! Nursing two cubs probably makes her very hungry, so we’re glad she’s taking the time to eat more bamboo. Thank you for answering our panda questions, Rebecca. We love learning interesting facts about pandas and, of course, getting updates on Lun Lun and the cubs!
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