Sign up
Log in
George
USA-Giant Panda/Debut
Washington D.C., USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of giant panda cubs chewing bamboo leaves in snow
2. SOUNDBITE (English) James Steeil, supervisory veterinary medical officer, Smithsonian's National Zoo (starting with shot 1):
"They're both eating well. They're both adapting to the environment and they're doing really, really well."
3. Various of giant panda cubs
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Songer, conservation biologist, Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (starting with shot 3):
"We have very close collaborations, partnerships with universities, with protected areas, with research centers and zoos in China that we've been building since the seventies."
5. Giant panda cub walking in snow
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas, Smithsonian's National Zoo (starting with shot 5/partially overlaid with shot 7):
"Yeah, they're definitely very different pandas. So you have Bao Li, who is just very outgoing, very interested in what the keepers are doing, always wanting attention from the keepers. And then you have Qing Bao, who's more independent, a little more shy, but still does interact with us a lot. I think it could be just a male-female thing, but we're definitely getting to know them a little better."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
7. Various of giant panda cubs
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
8. Various of giant panda cubs
9. SOUNDBITE (English) James Steeil, supervisory veterinary medical officer (starting with shot 9):
"In the wild, pandas are super solitary, and they only meet each other during breeding season. And their breeding season is so short, it's usually like a three-day meet. And, so, we adapt that here where they can see each other and smell each other. But they don't go into the same exhibit with each other unless it was for breeding purposes."
10. Various of giant panda cubs
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Huang Qiongyu, wildlife biologist, Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (starting with shot 10/ending with shot 12):
"We are building a sustainable captive population in the zoo environment. So, in the future, when we have a sustainable, big enough captive population, we are able to train some of the giant pandas to be reintroduced in the wild."
12. Various of giant panda cubs in snow
The public will soon be able to view giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao for the first time since the pair arrived in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian's National Zoo in October.
Both bears have recently spent time eagerly snacking in their snow-blanketed exhibits in a sign that they have been adjusting well to weather in the U.S. capital.
"They're both eating well. They're both adapting to the environment and they're doing really, really well," said James Steeil, a supervisory veterinary medical officer at the zoo.
Following the guidance of experts in China, the outdoor yards have been spruced up and the indoor enclosures have been fully revamped with new climbing structures and pools.
"We have very close collaborations, partnerships with universities, with protected areas, with research centers and zoos in China that we've been building since the seventies," said Melissa Songer, conservation biologist of Conservation Ecology Center under Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI).
Male panda Bao Li and female Qing Bao have already begun to exhibit the differences in their personalities, according to zookeepers.
"They're definitely very different pandas. So you have Bao Li, who is just very outgoing, very interested in what the keepers are doing, always wanting attention from the keepers. And then you have Qing Bao, who's more independent, a little more shy, but still does interact with us a lot. I think it could be just a male-female thing, but we're definitely getting to know them a little better," said Laurie Thompson, the zoo's assistant curator of giant pandas.
The pandas are not yet sexually mature, but in a few years, zookeepers hope they will mate and produce offspring. Until then, they remain separated.
"In the wild, pandas are super solitary, and they only meet each other during breeding season. And their breeding season is so short, it's usually like a three-day meet. And, so, we adapt that here where they can see each other and smell each other. But they don't go into the same exhibit with each other unless it was for breeding purposes," said Steeil.
Any cubs born to the pair will return to China by age four. China's panda conservation program is helping build the global panda population.
"We are building a sustainable captive population in the zoo environment. So, in the future, when we have a sustainable, big enough captive population, we are able to train some of the giant pandas to be reintroduced in the wild," said Huang Qiongyu, wildlife biologist of SCBI's Conservation Ecology Center.
Preview visits have begun for members of the National Zoo who pay an annual fee. The public will be able to come and see the pandas starting Jan 24.
Internet users will also be able to view the bears with the zoo's "Panda Cam."
USA-Giant Panda/Debut
Dateline : Recent
Location : United States
Duration : 2'21
Washington D.C., USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of giant panda cubs chewing bamboo leaves in snow
2. SOUNDBITE (English) James Steeil, supervisory veterinary medical officer, Smithsonian's National Zoo (starting with shot 1):
"They're both eating well. They're both adapting to the environment and they're doing really, really well."
3. Various of giant panda cubs
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Melissa Songer, conservation biologist, Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (starting with shot 3):
"We have very close collaborations, partnerships with universities, with protected areas, with research centers and zoos in China that we've been building since the seventies."
5. Giant panda cub walking in snow
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas, Smithsonian's National Zoo (starting with shot 5/partially overlaid with shot 7):
"Yeah, they're definitely very different pandas. So you have Bao Li, who is just very outgoing, very interested in what the keepers are doing, always wanting attention from the keepers. And then you have Qing Bao, who's more independent, a little more shy, but still does interact with us a lot. I think it could be just a male-female thing, but we're definitely getting to know them a little better."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
7. Various of giant panda cubs
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
8. Various of giant panda cubs
9. SOUNDBITE (English) James Steeil, supervisory veterinary medical officer (starting with shot 9):
"In the wild, pandas are super solitary, and they only meet each other during breeding season. And their breeding season is so short, it's usually like a three-day meet. And, so, we adapt that here where they can see each other and smell each other. But they don't go into the same exhibit with each other unless it was for breeding purposes."
10. Various of giant panda cubs
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Huang Qiongyu, wildlife biologist, Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (starting with shot 10/ending with shot 12):
"We are building a sustainable captive population in the zoo environment. So, in the future, when we have a sustainable, big enough captive population, we are able to train some of the giant pandas to be reintroduced in the wild."
12. Various of giant panda cubs in snow
The public will soon be able to view giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao for the first time since the pair arrived in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian's National Zoo in October.
Both bears have recently spent time eagerly snacking in their snow-blanketed exhibits in a sign that they have been adjusting well to weather in the U.S. capital.
"They're both eating well. They're both adapting to the environment and they're doing really, really well," said James Steeil, a supervisory veterinary medical officer at the zoo.
Following the guidance of experts in China, the outdoor yards have been spruced up and the indoor enclosures have been fully revamped with new climbing structures and pools.
"We have very close collaborations, partnerships with universities, with protected areas, with research centers and zoos in China that we've been building since the seventies," said Melissa Songer, conservation biologist of Conservation Ecology Center under Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI).
Male panda Bao Li and female Qing Bao have already begun to exhibit the differences in their personalities, according to zookeepers.
"They're definitely very different pandas. So you have Bao Li, who is just very outgoing, very interested in what the keepers are doing, always wanting attention from the keepers. And then you have Qing Bao, who's more independent, a little more shy, but still does interact with us a lot. I think it could be just a male-female thing, but we're definitely getting to know them a little better," said Laurie Thompson, the zoo's assistant curator of giant pandas.
The pandas are not yet sexually mature, but in a few years, zookeepers hope they will mate and produce offspring. Until then, they remain separated.
"In the wild, pandas are super solitary, and they only meet each other during breeding season. And their breeding season is so short, it's usually like a three-day meet. And, so, we adapt that here where they can see each other and smell each other. But they don't go into the same exhibit with each other unless it was for breeding purposes," said Steeil.
Any cubs born to the pair will return to China by age four. China's panda conservation program is helping build the global panda population.
"We are building a sustainable captive population in the zoo environment. So, in the future, when we have a sustainable, big enough captive population, we are able to train some of the giant pandas to be reintroduced in the wild," said Huang Qiongyu, wildlife biologist of SCBI's Conservation Ecology Center.
Preview visits have begun for members of the National Zoo who pay an annual fee. The public will be able to come and see the pandas starting Jan 24.
Internet users will also be able to view the bears with the zoo's "Panda Cam."
ID : 8411659
Published : 2025-01-11 11:41
Last Modified : 2025-01-11 20:53:00
Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
More
