Zoo photographer Jutta Kirchner has put her Fu Long photos online. The cuddly baby has grown to 73 cm and now weighs 7.74 kg (31 January). Those who want to see him live should visit the zoo at noontime; this is when he normally ventures into the indoor enclosure. The zoo keepers have a special request: please be as quiet as possible, don't use camera flashes and don't be upset that the tiny panda baby spends so much time sleeping. You know how toddlers are!

This marks the final entry into the panda diary. We hope you enjoyed being updated over the past months. How quickly time flies!

Photo: Jutta Kirchner

Fu Long is building himself up for his first live appearance in front of the zoo visitors. On the 29th, class 4C from the Maria Regina primary school in Wien-Döbling paid us a visit. In October, this class won the "Ö3 panda painting competition". More than five hundred classes sent artwork to the editorial office of the morning radio program "Ö3 Wecker".
The schoolchildren from class 4C therefore had the privilege of being the first to see Fu Long live. The event was capped when the children accompanied Toni Knittel (aka "Bluatschink") in singing the new "Fu Long Song".

Photos: Barbara Feldmann

Fu Long has finally gotten his act together and explored the large indoor enclosure on his own. Mama Yang Yang was strict and cut the adventure short after a few minutes. Gently but resolutely she nidged him back into the nesting box. The next few days will tell whether Fu Long is brave enough make the indoor enclosure his second home and whether Yang Yang will give her OK.

Fu Long is venturing into the indoor enclosure more often, but the many new impressions tire him out quickly. This means that every short outing is followed by a lengthy nap in the nesting box. He hasn't yet slept in the new den set up in the indoor enclosure: Yang Yang would rather be on the safe side and prefers that he spend his time in the original nesting box.

Fu Long's every step is being closely followed. Will he dare to explore the indoor enclosure on his own. The answer: yes. Even if it's just for a few minutes - once in the morning, once in the evening. It's a good start, and Yang Yang appears to be taking these adventures in greater stride. As a precautionary step to avoid outside disturbance, however, the house will remain closed for the time being.

Finally! In the morning, Fu Long took his first steps into the large room of the indoor enclosure, which will later be visible to visitors. It was a short foray: mom nudged her curious baby back into the nesting box after a few minutes.

On 9 January the keepers proudly reported that the tiny prince produced his first "poop".

Fu Long has explored every corner of the room in front of the nesting box, but still hasn't made the big step outside. Just for the record: the Americans did in fact land on the moon and Fu Long really does exist.

This is a peaceful time of year in Schönbrunn. Fu Long has been crawling back and forth from his nesting box, but has shown little inclination to travel as far as the indoor enclosure where the public could catch a glimpse of him. New Year's Eve passed without a hitch - the fireworks over Vienna and the detonations from far and wide did not seem to affect the pandas. The keepers, however, are all fighting colds.

The countdown has begun: Fu Long is becoming more adventurous and playful by the day. He can already stand on his hind legs and hold himself up against the wall with his paws. When the keepers clean the room in front of the nesting box, he is clearly up for fun. "Just like a playful kitten", they report. He taps them with his front paws, then occasionally falls over to one side and rolls gleefully a short distance across the floor. He can now also take the one "critical" step down to the indoor enclosure, where he could be viewed by the public. The panda baby hasn't quite dared to go out through the gate though. It can only be a matter of days before he finally makes his grand appearance.

The question we hear most is: "When are we visitors finally going to be able to see the baby panda?" The keepers' realistic answer: "Next year." Fu Long is already actively crawling about but remains quite shaky. He can make his way from the nesting box into the surrounding room, but it will probably be a while before he ventures all the way out into the large indoor enclosure (especially considering that he has to surmount a step in between).

The outdoor panda enclosure has a taken on a decidedly wintry touch, and Fu Long is becoming increasingly independent. Since the 14th he has occasionally left the nesting box, crawled out into the room and then returned to the den by himself. On the 16th he ventured out between 11 am and 3:30 pm and slept for a while in the hay. Any day now we expect him to make his way outside.

Fu Long’s medical check-up on 12 December yielded the following results: weight 4.88 kg, length 65 cm, and four canine teeth that have come out.

Fu Long will very soon make his first appearance in front of our guests. The zoo is diligently preparing itself for the wave of visitors. Elevated viewing platforms are being erected along the panda enclosure. A special queuing system is being installed to guarantee that each and everyone can catch a good glimpse of the tiny panda; this will be supplemented by an array of TV screens that will show live footage from every corner of the enclosure.

The panda keeper Mag. Eveline Dungl has just completed her Ph.D. thesis and has earned the title “doctor”. Her topic: “Visual abilities of Giant Pandas”. The research was funded by the “Jubiläumsfonds” of the Austrian National Bank and supervised by Univ. Prof. Dr. Ludwig Huber, Department of Neurobiology and Behavioural Sciences of the University of Vienna (together with Dr. Dagmar Schratter). Next to nothing was known about how Giant Pandas see their surroundings and members of their own species. The questions that were answered in the Ph.D. thesis are: Can Giant Pandas differentiate objects based on shape and pattern? Can they recognize one another based purely on visual features? The results: Giant Pandas have very good vision over short distances. Their visual acuity would clearly allow them to recognize and differentiate other pandas based on facial color patterns.
Photo: Herwig Pechlaner

On November 30th, Fu Long tipped the scales at 4.22 kg. His body length increased only negligibly. "He’s filling out", commented the keepers. On December 4th the baby panda was officially given the name "Fu Long" - by Wu Ken, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Austria along with a Chinese delegation consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Finances as well as the Woolong research and panda breeding station, under the directorship of Yang Baijin, secretary general of the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Austria’s minister of foreign affairs, Dr. Ursula Plassnik, assumed a sponsorship for the Schönbrunn panda in the name of her ministry. The Hotel Imperial donated a cake.

Fu Long would just love to explore the big wide world, but Yang Yang will have none of it (see black & white photo). As far as raising the baby is concerned, she shows real multi-tasking skills: suckling Fu Long while stuffing herself with bamboo is no problem.

Contrary to certain newspaper reports, the door of the outdoor enclosure is not yet open for the baby panda. When Yang Yang meets Long Hui outside, the nesting box is closed and the baby remains inside.
The baby panda would be free to roam the indoor facility, but hasn't done so yet. Our veterinarian Hanna Vielgrader carried out a health check this week. She confirms that Fu Long is a male and reports that the growth of the canine teeth is quite advanced: the shiny white teeth are already visible shimmering through the gums, but haven't come out yet.

A postscript about the main food item in our pandas' diet - bamboo:
Up until now the zoo received a 1.2 ton shipment of bamboo every 14 days from southern France. These shipments typically contained about six different species of bamboo. Since three mouths are hungrier than two and variety is the spice of life, the zoo has now begun to import an assorted mixture from Germany on a trial basis. In Germany, bamboo is grown primarily for landscape gardening, whereas the French plantation is primarily geared toward supplying bamboo furniture manufacturers.

Yang Yang has a very healthy appetite. After all, she's currently eating for two! The keepers have therefore looked around for a new source of bamboo. The solution: the zoo will temporarily import bamboo and additional bamboo species from Germany. This will provide a welcome variety in the pandas' diet.

Our panda baby has been measured and weighed for the first time. He tipped the scale at just over 3 kilograms and is about 45-50 cm long: like any baby, he just couldn't stay still long enough for a more exact measurement.

The panda's outdoor enclosure is currently being renovated to add safety features for the tiny "lucky dragon". Potential escape routes are being sealed with additional barriers and the ponds are being made "child-proof".

Baby Fu Long has begun to crawl about actively. He can already lift up the front part of his body as well as elevate and turn his head, but his "rear end" is a bit shaky. His parents are now spending about an hour a day together. Yang Yang has already toured the outdoor facility and even fed there.

The visitors to our webpage have decided to name Vienna’s panda baby “Fu Long” – which translates into “the lucky dragon”. In early December a delegation from the “China Wildlife Conservation Association” and the Chinese Ministry of Forests will be arriving for a ceremony to make the name official. Zoo visitors will be able to see the baby live by mid-December at the latest.

On the night of 28/29 October, Yang Yang moved with her baby into a room next to the nesting box, which had probably become a bit too small. The new den lies outside the visitors’ field of view, and the keepers had already made it cosy with a layer of hay beforehand.

Yang Yang and Long Hui, the baby panda’s parents, were together again for the first time since the birth. Eveline Dungl: “Because Yang Yang has been spending hours outdoors eating bamboo, we decided to test how she would get along with her mate.” The door to the nesting box containing the baby was closed and the adults were left alone in the indoor enclosure. Dungel: “It worked perfectly – there wasn’t the slightest problem and both were apparently quite eager to check out each others territory. Long Hui was especially active: he had to sniff all the tree stumps on Yang Yang's side. At the end they sat next to one another, peacefully munching on food. The whole process took place under the watchful eye of the zoo staff, and when Yang Yang showed signs of wanting to go back to the baby, we cleared the way for her.

The baby still drinks only its mother's milk and needs to be prompted by Yang Yang to defecate and urinate. Size and weight: about 45 cm and 3 kg.

The radio station Ö3 called out to all Austrian elementary school classes to draw, paint or model the panda baby.
The response was overwhelming: more than 500 classes sent their work to the editors of the morning show "Ö3 Wecker". A lottery drawing has decided which class has the privilege of visiting the Schönbrunn pandas accompanied by director Dagmar Schratter, a trip that will also feature an exclusive guided tour of the zoo. And the lucky winner is...: class 4C of the Maria Regina elementery school in Wien-Döbling. An Ö3-team will pick up the winning class by bus and bring them to the "Panda day" in Schönbrunn.

Photo: Barbara Feldmann