In preparation for going to the Wolong Panda Base in a few days to start a new study on panda reintroductions, I have been tasked with collecting urine samples from some of the pandas here at Bifengxia. By January 8th, I need to have collected urine from one male and one female, as well as a scent marking from one male and one female. 4 samples didn’t seem like it would be too difficult, but boy was I wrong.
Bai Yang contemplating helping me with some scent marking.
From communication barriers in explaining what I need, to the pandas seeming too shy to urinate in front of me, it’s been a fairly tough task. As I go about my daily stereotypical studies, I am constantly on the lookout for the panda I am studying, or any pandas around me urinating or scent marking. A study I conducted a few days ago with Yao Man was particularly frustrating, as she was drinking water through the entire study, making me believe she would provide a sample, eventually. Which she did, directly into her large water bowl, making it impossible to collect on the piece of pine bark I need it on.
Luckily I have recently enlisted the aid of one of the panda keepers at the breeding center to be on the lookout for urinating bears. I have been visiting her daily, asking if there are any areas where I can easily put my pieces of pine bark to collect. And thankfully, with her help, I have been able to collect the urine samples for both male and female pandas. And from previous studies, I knew that Bai Yang scent marks a lot during the morning on one specific tree; I staked out that tree this morning and was able to quickly collect the scent marking as soon as his keepers moved him to a different enclosure for cleaning. Now I have 4 days to collect 1 more scent mark sample.
Hi everyone- I’m Zachary David. If you enjoyed reading my post, let me know by commenting below. I like the feedback. Cheers!
I thought I would let you know that Ya Ya the female panda at Memphis Zoo urinates on command. She was trained to do so. I believe Bai Yun, the female at San Diego Zoo also urinates on command. So the pandas are trainable and you may want to contact the American Zoos to find out what they did to accomplish this.
Thank you for writing this informative report. I enjoyed reading it.
Yes! Bai Yun is trained to urinate on command! It’s amazing! It would be awesome if all the females at the CCRCGP bases were also trained to urinate on command. I believe many are working on this training now, but it’s slow going with so many bears! The benefit of having on 3 bears in the foreign institutes is we get to spend lots of time with each bear 🙂
Good Morning, Zachary! Sounds like you have your hands full trying to get samples – I always thought I wanted to be a panda keeper because I only envision cuddling the sweet adorable little creatures! I see that they can be stubborn and uncooperative and contrary through your eyes! Thank you! I do really enjoy your posts! I see another aspect of these wonderful creatures!
Joann, Ah the trials and tribulations of science data collection! It can take hours to get one single urine collection during the breeding season to measure the females hormone levels in order to determine when they ovulate. Urinating on command would certainly make the process go smoother!
It’s always fascinating to hear about the glamorous life of a scientist! Could you not have dipped your pine bark into Yao Man’s water bowl to obtain your sample? Too bad you don’t have a long period of time with any particular bear. The keepers at San Diego Zoo have been able to get Bai Yun to pee on cue through clicker training. Good luck with your work–and keep the posts coming!
Frances, Your idea probably would have worked but then the “intensity” of the samples wouldn’t be comparable so, sadly, these samples get “wasted”. In order to publish our data, urine collection, storage, and presentation has to be consistent throughout all samples and phases of the study ! Sometimes, while this repeatability is absolutely necessary, it can be cumbersome and tedious!
Really interesting. I know Baiyang and Yaoma. Baiyang is a potential father of the cute baby Diandian (Yinghua’s 2015 cub), really happy to hear his news.