WASHINGTON — The National Zoo’s baby panda is all grown up, and zoo keepers have moved her out of the enclosure she shared with mom and into her own digs.
“Anybody who has been watching Bao Bao grow up, she’s a lot bigger. She’s a lot more independent,” says Dr. Brandie Smith, senior curator of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
There comes time in any giant panda’s life when he needs his own bamboo-lined enclosure, and at 18 months old, Smith says, Bao Bao is ready.
“Weaning ultimately starts when we start giving her solid food, but what we’ve noticed lately is that they’re not spending a lot of time together during the day,” Smith says.
That separation put keepers on alert to watch for subtle and not-so-subtle signs it was time to move Bao Bao into her own space.
“The one thing that put this into high gear is that when Bao Bao tried to nurse, her mom would push her away and so we don’t want any of those interactions between them to become aggressive,” she says.
The zoo’s pandas were separated Sunday.
“We were in the Panda House watching them around the clock to make sure everything is OK with them, and then, after watching them for a few days, we realized they were absolutely fine on their own. So now we’re letting them do their own thing,” Smith says.
And since this cold weather provides a natural climate for giant pandas, Smith says, they are outside a lot. However, like commuters, they have learned snow is very different from sleet.
“Bao Bao — her first time in icy conditions, she did not like the ice. She was on the ice for a little bit. Then she went right up her tree and spent the rest of the day up there.”
Away from mom.
