CJ Swartz
01-12-2007, 01:16 PM
You may have seen her on the news -- Mei Lan made her debut in front of the cameras today -- Mei Lan is Zoo Atlanta's panda cub who was born in September 2006.
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_giant_panda_cub_gallery.htm
http://www.zooatlanta.org/videos/panda_cub_towel.htm (requires quicktime)
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_videos.htm
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.php4 (on Firefox, I had to allow 2 scripts, and then I could see the cub)
Live video of the cub will now be accessible Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m, US Eastern Standard Time (-5 UTC).
From CNN: "Getting Mei Lan and her nervous mother to this point has been no easy task. The zoo already postponed the media debut once after realizing the cub was making chirping noises that meant she was uncomfortable outside her nest.
"You just can't rush it. You have to let the animals tell you when they're ready," said Rebecca Snyder, curator of giant panda research and management.
Mei Lan and her mother, Lun Lun, have been in seclusion since the cub's September 6 birth. Panda fans have been keeping up with the duo on the zoo's panda cam on the Internet or through live video feeds on monitors at the zoo's panda exhibit.
Zookeepers have put adhesive "no slip" strips on the slick concrete floor to help Mei Lan while she learns to walk. They put down natural fiber mats at first, but Lun Lun chewed them to shreds.
She is walking on her own now -- though it looks more like stumbling. It is important that the cub learn how to walk and climb well; she could get seriously hurt from a fall inside her enclosure, which has rocks, trees and slopes."
Photo below © Copyright 2007 Atlanta Fulton County Zoo, Inc.
I'll take it off if necessary, but I knew some folks would have trouble accessing the website videos etc. and want everyone to be able to see this little wonder.
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_giant_panda_cub_gallery.htm
http://www.zooatlanta.org/videos/panda_cub_towel.htm (requires quicktime)
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_videos.htm
http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.php4 (on Firefox, I had to allow 2 scripts, and then I could see the cub)
Live video of the cub will now be accessible Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m, US Eastern Standard Time (-5 UTC).
From CNN: "Getting Mei Lan and her nervous mother to this point has been no easy task. The zoo already postponed the media debut once after realizing the cub was making chirping noises that meant she was uncomfortable outside her nest.
"You just can't rush it. You have to let the animals tell you when they're ready," said Rebecca Snyder, curator of giant panda research and management.
Mei Lan and her mother, Lun Lun, have been in seclusion since the cub's September 6 birth. Panda fans have been keeping up with the duo on the zoo's panda cam on the Internet or through live video feeds on monitors at the zoo's panda exhibit.
Zookeepers have put adhesive "no slip" strips on the slick concrete floor to help Mei Lan while she learns to walk. They put down natural fiber mats at first, but Lun Lun chewed them to shreds.
She is walking on her own now -- though it looks more like stumbling. It is important that the cub learn how to walk and climb well; she could get seriously hurt from a fall inside her enclosure, which has rocks, trees and slopes."
Photo below © Copyright 2007 Atlanta Fulton County Zoo, Inc.
I'll take it off if necessary, but I knew some folks would have trouble accessing the website videos etc. and want everyone to be able to see this little wonder.