China News Service, September 4th. In response to recent reports from netizens living in Washington Zoo that the giant panda "Meixiang" did not eat after giving birth, and the zoo did not take care of "Meixiang" well, the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center published relevant instructions on the 3rd Weibo. , Responded to multiple questions.
(The picture shows the monitoring screen of "Meixiang" artificial feeding by the Washington Zoo keeper after the giant panda "Baby" was produced by "Meixiang" in 2013)
Attachment: Statement on the situation of the giant panda "Mei Xiang" in Washington Zoo
Recently, some netizens reported that the giant panda "Mei Xiang" living in the Washington Zoo did not eat after giving birth and had a small living space. The Washington Zoo did not take care of "Mei Xiang" well.
After receiving feedback from netizens, the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center attached great importance to it, further verified with the other zoo, and conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on the "Meixiang" situation.
Here are some explanations on the issues reported by netizens.
1. Regarding the eating situation of the giant panda "Mei Xiang".
During pregnancy, giant pandas will store a lot of energy. Appetite will gradually recover about a week after mating, and the feed intake will reach a normal level in about one month. By the second trimester, the feed intake will increase significantly, and the weight of individual giant pandas will increase to the time before estrus. About 20% of the body weight, but in the late pregnancy (20-35 days), the appetite gradually deteriorates, the food intake decreases significantly, and basically no food is eaten before the labor.
The giant panda mothers have obvious changes in the late gestation period: some mothers will have nesting behaviors around 15 days before delivery, and the breasts and vulva will have obvious changes. About 3 days before delivery, the mothers begin to show mild irritability (such as frequent walking). , Playing in the water, scratching wood branches and bamboo, etc.).
After the panda cubs are born, all the energy of the mother animal is used to care for the cubs. In captivity, the cubs will be thrown out or feces for the first time 3-5 days after delivery. Most mothers start around 5 days after delivery. Eat a small amount of bamboo leaves, but individual differences are relatively large. Some female animals have strong motherhood. In order to better take care of the young, even if the food is placed next to the female animal, the female animal usually does not eat or eats a small amount of food to reduce the number of excretion. Affects the feeding of cubs, and some mothers only start to eat a small amount of food 10-12 days after delivery.
At the same time, as the cubs grow older, the mother will gradually lose her cubs for a short time, defecate and eat.
After starting to eat, use fresh bamboo leaves as the mainstay, try to keep a certain distance from the cubs to avoid the residual bamboo fiber from hurting the cubs. When the intake of bamboo reaches more than 2 kg, start to feed the concentrate and give birth to 2 litters. Months later, according to the change of appetite and excretion of the mother animal, the amount of concentrate feeding will gradually transition to the daily feeding method; for mothers with strong appetite and strong hunger, the amount of concentrate feeding can be increased to daily feeding 115% to 130% of the amount.
Previously, when the giant panda "Meixiang" gave birth to "Baby" and "Babe", they only drank water 4 days after giving birth, and only started to eat a little after 11 days.
The zoo has plenty of water and food outside the delivery room, and "Mei Xiang" can walk out of the delivery room to eat at any time.
But now, out of the instinct to protect the safety of the cubs, she only goes out for a short time to drink water, and will gradually start eating naturally in the future.
During this period, in order to help "Mei Xiang" eat, the Washington Zoo keepers artificially fed the giant pandas in the delivery room.
(The picture shows the monitoring screen of "Meixiang" artificial feeding by the Washington Zoo keeper after the production of giant pandas)
2. About the living space of "Meixiang" after childbirth.
In order to provide the giant panda mother with a good environment for nurturing her cubs, before giving birth, the giant panda is usually placed in a soundproof, darkened, low-noise, non-disturbing delivery room.
The delivery room is a tree hole (approximately 90cm in diameter and 130cm in height) prepared for giant pandas, imitating the characteristics of a giant panda nest in the wild, or a tree-like pond (approximately 85cm in diameter and 70cm in height) or transformed into a relatively small room according to the conditions of the pen. Make the mother animal have a certain sense of security.
The two previous productions of "Meixiang" were also in the same room.
(The picture shows the monitoring screen when "Meixiang" produces giant panda "Baby")
3. Washington Zoo's care for "Mei Xiang".
The Panda Center and Washington Zoo have always maintained close contact, and the two sides have established a long-term exchange and guidance mechanism.
In the previous two productions of "Meixiang", the Panda Center sent experts to the Washington Zoo for on-site guidance. This time, due to the epidemic, the Panda Center conducted online guidance and exchanges with "Meixiang" litters.
During the calving period, the Washington Zoo will monitor and care for giant pandas in accordance with the requirements of the Panda Center. The zoo has assigned personnel to closely monitor the behavior of giant pandas around the clock.
(The picture shows the Washington Zoo veterinarian doing B-ultrasound for "Mei Xiang")
(The picture shows the "Meixiang" prenatal meeting held at the Washington Zoo)
(The picture shows the Washington Zoo monitoring room, during the calving period, the staff monitor the panda closely for 24 hours)
Regarding the birth of the giant panda "Meixiang", the Washington Zoo updated its official website from August 21-28 (every day) and 31st, and also carried out popular science on some behaviors of "Meixiang" after giving birth. .
Thanks again to all netizens for their concern for pandas!