Facts About Dulzura Kangaroo Rats

Taxonomy

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Heteromyidae
Genus:	Dipodomys
Species:	D. simulans

The Dulzura kangaroo rat, or San Diego kangaroo rat,

Dipodomys simulans, is also found in Baja California

Dipodomys agilis  The agile Kangaroo rat

Dipodomys merriami  Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat  also found in Baja

Dipodomys insularis San Jose Island Kangaroo Rat – critically endangered species

Dipodomys gravipes San Quintin Kangaroo Rat – endangered

Identifying Features

Kangaroo rats have long tails and big hind feet with four toes. They have large heads with big eyes and small ears. They are a sandy brown color with a white underbelly.

Adaptations

The kangaroo rat is almost perfectly adapted to life in the desert. They can survive without ever drinking any water, getting needed moisture from their seed diet. They have excellent hearing and can even detect the silent sound of an owl approaching. Their large back legs enable them to jump up to 9 feet (2.75m) in one jump in order to escape predators.

Habitat

Kangaroo rats inhabit a variety of desert niches. These can include open desert scrub, open grasslands, washes, sandy soils or creosote flats.

Kangaroo rats live in complex burrow systems. The burrows have separate chambers for specific proposes like sleeping, living and food storage.[2] The spacing of the burrows depends on the number of kangaroo rats and the abundance of food. Kangaroo rats also live in colonies that range from six to several hundred dens.[4] The burrow of a kangaroo rat is important in providing protection from the harsh desert environment. To maintain a constant temperature and relative humidity in their burrows, kangaroo rats plug the entrances with soil during the day.[2] When the outside temperature is too hot, a kangaroo rat stays in its cool, humid burrow and leaves it only at night.[5] To reduce loss of moisture through respiration when sleeping, a kangaroo rat buries its nose in its fur to accumulate a small pocket of moist air.[5] The burrows of Merriam's kangaroo rats are simpler and shallower than those of banner-tailed kangaroo rats. Banner-tailed kangaroo rats also mate in their burrows, unlike Merriam's kangaroo rats.

Range

Kangaroo rats are found in the drier regions of the western and southwestern U.S.

Wild Status

The kangaroo rat is not endangered. Its status in the wild is good right now.

Diet

Kangaroo rats eat seeds from a variety of desert grasses as well as mesquite beans. On occasion, some kangaroo rats will eat green vegetation and some insects.

Food and foraging

Kangaroo rats are primarily seed eaters.[6] They will, however, sometimes eat vegetation at some times of the year and some insects, too.[2] They have been seen storing the seeds of mesquite, creosote, bush, purslane, ocotillo and grama grass in their cheek pouches. Kangaroo rats will store extra seeds in seed caches.[4] This caching behavior has an impact on the range-land and croplands where the animals live.[2] Kangaroo rats must harvest as much seeds as possible in as little time as possible.[6] They need to decrease the time away from their burrows as they are cool and dry. In addition, being away from their burrows also makes them vulnerable to predators.[6]

When on foraging trips, kangaroo rats hoard the seeds that they find. It is important for a kangaroo rat to encounter more food items than are consumed, at least at one point in the year, as well as defend or rediscover food caches and remain within the same areas long enough to utilize food resources.[3] Different species of kangaroo rat may have different seed caching strategies to coexist with each other, as is the case for the banner-tailed kangaroo rat and Merriam's kangaroo rat which have overlapping ranges.[1] Merriam's kangaroo rats scatterhoard small clumps of seeds in many small holes.[7] This is done close to the burrow and travel costs are minimized and harvest rates are maximized.[7] Banner-tailed kangaroo rats larderhoard on large mounds.[7] This could give them extra time and energy and decrease the risk of predation. They also spend less time on the surface digging small caches.

Predators

Unfortunately for the kangaroo rat, it has many predators. There are many creatures out there who would like to make a tasty meal out of this small creature. Owls, snakes, bobcats, foxes, badgers, coyotes, ringtail, and your cat or dog are just a few.

Home

Kangaroo rats generally live in underground burrows which they have excavated themselves. Often times the burrow is at the base of a shrub or bush. It spends most of its day underground sleeping, and comes out to feed at night when it is cooler.

Life Span

The life span of a wild kangaroo rat is not very long, only 2-5 years.

Mating and reproduction

Kangaroo rats have a promiscuous mating system. Their reproductive output is highest in summer following high rainfalls. During droughts and food shortages, only a few females will breed.  It appears that kangaroo rats can assess their local conditions and adjust their reproductive efforts accordingly. Merriam's kangaroo rats breed between February and May and produce two or three litters each.  Before mating, the male and female will perform nasal-anal circling until the female stops and allows the male to mount her. A Merriam's kangaroo rat female will allow multiple males to mount her in a short period of time, perhaps to ensure greater chances of producing offspring. Mating in banner-tailed kangaroo rats involve more chasing and foot drumming in the male before the females allows him to mate.  Banner-tailed kangaroo rats mate on mounds and the more successful males chase away rival males. The gestation period of kangaroo rats last 22-27 days.

The young are born in a fur-lined nest in the burrows. They are born blind and hairless.   For the first week, young Merriam kangaroo rats crawl, and develop their hind legs in their second or third week.[4] At this time, the young become independent. Banner-tailed kangaroo rat are weaned between 22-25 days. Offspring remain in the mound for 1-6 more months in the maternal caches.

Size

Depending on the subspecies, kangaroo rats can weigh up to 4.5 ounces (128 g). Their body length can be 3.5 to 5.5 inches (8 -14 cm) and their tail can be 5.5 to 6.5 inches long (14-16 cm).

Extra Fun-facts

        Kangaroo rats have pouches, but not for carrying their babies. Their pouches are on the outside of their cheeks and are used for carrying seeds back to their burrows.

Kangaroo Rats don't sweat or pant like other animals to keep cool because that would cause them to loose water from their bodies.

The San Quintin kangaroo rat is found in flat land with low vegetation. Kangaroo rats generally prefer well-drained, easily worked soil to dig their burrows in. They can also recolonize abandoned agricultural lands. Seeds usually comprise the major portion of the diet of kangaroo rats. Fruits, leaves, stems, buds and insects can also be included. Kangaroo rats are nocturnal and live in burrows which they excavate. Kangaroo rats are usually strongly territorial, with 1 adult per burrow.

The San Quintin kangaroo rat occurs only in a 100 km (62 mi) strip of coastal lowlands in northern Baja California, Mexico, from San Telmo to El Rosario. It was reported to be abundant in this area in 1972, but by 1980 its former habitat was plowed up except for an area 9 km (6 mi) north of El Rosario. The San Quintin kangaroo rat's recent decline has been caused by habitat loss due to agriculture.

Tidbits

*** The San Quintin kangaroo rat is regarded as an effective "keystone predator". It affects the composition of the plant community, thereby indirectly affecting ant and bird densities. This rodent species preys on large-seeded plants that would otherwise competitively reduce the abundance of small-seeded plants.

*** Kangaroo rats seldom drink water, since they are able to use water resulting from the chemical breakdown of their food. They conserve moisture by coming out of their burrows at night when the humidity is highest. They have kidneys at least 4 times as efficient as those of humans, and thus need much less water to remove wastes.

*** Kangaroo rats travel by hopping on their hind legs. When threatened, they can hop 2 m (6.6') or more with one hop.

*** Bathing in dust is apparently necessary for the well-being of kangaroo rats. When they are not able to do so, captive kangaroo rats develop sores on their body and their fur becomes matted from oily secretions on their back. 

Image Source:

alpenglowimagesSan Jacinto Centennial ResurveySan Jacinto Centennial Resurvey

About the Author:
Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. He specializes in gray whale tour, blue whale tour, gray and blue whale combo tour, giant panda bear tour, walk a tiger tour, shark tour, African safari tour, African gorilla trek, arctic narwhal tour and Magdalena Bay whale watching tour. He also writes about Baja travel and gray whales. Keith Jones is the author of Gray Whales My Twenty Years of Discovery.

The Mountain Lion: Puma Concolor (Puma & Cougar)

The Cougar is a tan yellow shaded cat whose range is all across North & South America including Baja.

Size:  averaging 100 to 225 pounds, this is the world’s 4th largest cat.  A length to 5’6” and height of 24 to 36” at the shoulder.  Powerfully built and agile as a house cat, cougars can leap 15 to 18 feet vertically to climb a tree.  They can leap as much as 40 feet horizontally. The fastest animal in North America with short bursts of speed to 40 mph.

Prey: A generalist who will eat deer, mice, rabbits & even insects, but not plants.  Cattle, goats & antelope are also prey in Baja.  Large meals generally consumed once or twice a week. 

                                                    Page

Reproduction:  Non seasonal like house cats.  Litters normally every other year. 

Gestation:  90 to 95 days

Cubs weaned: 4 to 6 weeks of age.

Normal is 1 or 2 cubs, but litters to 6.

Cubs stay with mom for up to 2 years growing and learning to hunt on their own. Then they leave and must find a new territory of their own.

                                                                                     Photo: Wikipedia

  The largest purring cat! 

Pronghorn Antelope

About the Author:

Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. He specializes in gray whale tour, blue whale tour, gray and blue whale combo tour, giant panda bear tour, walk a tiger tour, shark tour, African safari tour, African gorilla trek, arctic narwhal tour and Magdalena Bay whale watching tour. He also writes about Baja travel and gray whales. Keith Jones is the author of Gray Whales My Twenty Years of Discovery.

Wolong Panda Preserve Day 2

Wolong Panda Preserve

Sichuan Province, China

Trip Log, Day two at the Wolong Panda Preserve

November, 2006

Today is our second day at the Wolong Panda Preserve.  This morning we met at 8:00 A.M. as usual, for breakfast in the Panda Inn dining room.  This is where we eat most of our meals while at the panda preserve.  The restaurant staff is always friendly and very quick with service.  As soon as I sat down they brought me tea.  We eat our meals traditional Chinese family style, so everyone has the opportunity to taste many different dishes.  For breakfast I usually eat a plain bread roll and a hard boiled egg.  There are many more choices, but I eat light in the morning.

We were all excited and anxious prior to beginning our first work day here at the preserve.  We were told to meet our “masters” at 8:30 inside the panda garden.  The masters are the panda keepers, trainers and veterinarians who will be our mentors during our volunteer work days. 

Each of us was assigned his or her own master, who we will work with and assist as they perform their regular work chores.  Each of these professionals has a regular schedule of pandas they care for.  The number of pandas varies from 1 to 5 or 6 depending on what work effort is required for the individual animals.

My panda trainers name is Sung.  She is a very experienced panda trainer who had only one panda in her care while I was there.  Sung was responsible for rehabilitating and training Drong Drong.  He is an addition to the Panda Garden who was discovered by local mountain villagers.  When they found him he was sick and in need of care.  The Preserve rescued him from the wild.  This is how many pandas find their way to the panda preserve.

Sung was given the responsibility of getting Drong into good physical shape and then to train him with all the behaviors necessary for him to become one of the strong male breeders.  She must train him to react to many instructions including climbing into the cage that is used for physical inspection and manipulation by the veterinarians.  This training is time intensive, which is why Sung had only Drong Drong to care for.

At 8:30 we all walked from the dining room over to the Panda Garden, just a few hundred yards away.  It is a real treat to come out of the hotel in the morning, walk to the preserve and be one of only a handful of people in the park.

The Panda Garden is vibrantly alive in the early morning.  There is usually a misty haze covering the mountains that climb steeply from both sides of this narrow river canyon.  The pandas know that the keepers are on their way with the morning treats.  They look forward to receiving the days supply of fresh green tender bamboo.  Every enclosure has pandas on the move.  Up in trees, down along walking lanes and just sitting near the entrances to their private homes, the pandas are all waiting.

I was introduced to Sung, who is a get to it, straight forward kind of person, just as I am.  We hit it off right from the start.  Sung has limited English and I have very limited Chinese, but we had no communication problems whatsoever.

The first thing Sung did was take me to the bakery where we picked up the morning ration of panda cake.  Panda cake is made from a special formula developed at the Wolong Panda Preserve.  The mix consists of corn meal, ground bamboo, carrots, apple, oil and some other tasty ingredients.  It is considered too rough on the digestive system for humans to eat, but of course I had to take a taste.  Like corn bread, but better!  The finished panda cakes are wheels about 10” in diameter and 3 or 4 inches thick.

The pandas love this tasty treat which makes it perfect to use as a training aid.  Because it is vitamin and calorie loaded, it is very good for those pandas being rehabilitated after rescue from bad situations in the wild

Once Sung had carefully measured out the morning quota of panda cake for Drong Drong we grabbed a large two wheeled cart, a couple of rakes, a scooping device and headed over to Drong’s enclosure.

Baby pandas are cute and cuddly and we all want to hug them.  Adult pandas are kind of cuddly appearing too, until you see the very large bear-like claws.  We are instructed to stay out of reach of those sharp claws, which they use to defend themselves in the wild.

Using the panda cake, Sung began the morning training session with Drong Drong.  First she had him sit on the scale that is permanently mounted in one corner of his house.  Drong weighed in at 106 kilos.  Sung said that was good.  This is close to Drong’s ideal weight.  They estimated his age at about 8 years old.

Next Sung put Drong through a series of stretching and flexibility exercises.  These are designed to strengthen his hind quarters ( a weak point in panda design).  This strengthening will make Drong a better breeding panda male.

When the exercises were complete for the moment, but some panda cake remained, Sung handed it to me and motioned that I should break it up into bite sized pieces and hand feed Drong Drong.  I accepted this assignment with a big smile on my face.

Drong knew to sit against the cage door and place his face close to the bars.  He would open his mouth and stick his long pink tongue out, then wait for me to place a bite onto his tongue.  I couldn’t resist enticing him to lick my hand.  (I probably wasn’t supposed to do that because I imagine putting your hand inside a pandas mouth could be considered dangerous.)  I discovered that if I withheld the panda cake, just a moment, Drong would lean forward and stick his tongue out even further. 

When he accidentally licked my right hand this way, I immediately pushed the small piece of cake into his mouth while his tongue was still touching me.  We did this a couple times in a row and Drong being the smart guy that he is, picked up on the routine.  From then on when I placed my hand just outside the bars Drong would lean forward and give my hand a good lick.  When I related this experience later, I was surprised to find out that I was the only one of our group who got their hand licked.

Anyway, after this training exercise Sung closed Drong Drong inside his house while she and I went into the outside enclosure and cleaned the fallen leaves from the moat.   I guess fishing for leaves took us an hour or so.  Then we returned to the workers private area, where we had a 45 minute wait until the next training and feeding exercise.  I left the employee rest area and wondered alone through the panda garden, enjoying my private time here at the Preserve.

My second session that morning with Drong was a repeat of the first one, except there was no cage cleaning required.  We just put Drong Drong through his training exercises and hand fed him panda cake.  My morning work period ended around 11:15 AM. 

I went back to my room and organized some notes while waiting to meet everyone else for lunch.  Lunch found all of us over talkative and excited about our morning.  Not one of us was disappointed in how the morning had gone.  The “work” was really not difficult.  Raking leaves and scooping a few piles of bamboo green panda poop barely qualified as work. 

A special training session was scheduled for Drong Drong in the afternoon.  So immediately after lunch Sung and I took some more panda cake and put Drong through his regular exercise training program one more time.  Then a short rest break, which I used to explore a different part of the Panda Garden.  Around 2:30 Sung and I wondered back to Drong Drong’s cage where we met with two of the vets and the head panda keeper.

Sung called Drong over to the door to his house.  The training cage was already pushed up against the bars.  One of the others slid the bars aside and Sung directed Drong Drong into the small training and handling cage.  Drong obediently crawled inside.  At Sung’s direction he lay down on his back and extended his right arm through the main cage into a specially built appendage that sticks out one side of the cage.  This small cage encloses the pandas arm and paw. 

The small arm cage makes it easier and safer for the veterinarians to work on the pandas.  The arm is exposed so that if they need to draw blood samples or to give injections the pandas arm is exposed and accessible.

Next Sung had our panda grasp the bars on the side of the cage with each of his four paws.  To reward him, Sung used a small training clicker which she repeatedly clicked, just as she fed him small pieces of panda cake.  Over time the clicker noise becomes attached to the taste of the panda cake and the animal can be rewarded with just the clicker.  This is important because the rich panda cake must be rationed.  Too much is not good for the pandas digestive system and causes a very messy clean up the next morning.

The training exercise consumed our afternoon work period.  Once we had muscled the cage back into the panda house and released Drong Drong to his outside enclosure, Sung said we had another 45 minute break before the next session. 

I used this time to watch some of the baby pandas being hand fed their bottles.  The babies are fed and cared for inside a special nursery area.  The workers are very protective of the babies.  For some reason the public is not allowed to look at the baby pandas when they are out getting some sunshine or playing.  The only time the public can view the panda babies is when they are in the nursery being cared for.

Us volunteer workers were able to sit alongside the babies as they played and just lay in the warm sunshine, soaking up the sparse mountain sun.  Each baby had his or her own personality.  At two months of age they were still not real strong and active.  Most of them would just lay and enjoy the warmth of the sun.  However, there was one precocious child who would not stay with the group.  As soon as he was placed on the warm asphalt, he began crawling away from the group.  His babysitter would let him get about 10 yards from the others, then she would scoop him up and carry him back to the others.  This action was repeated over and over all the time I watched the squirming pile of panda babies.

My last work session of the day began around 3:00 and went until 4:00 PM.  We carried some fresh bamboo over to the cage and took away the old stuff.  Then Drong did his exercises one last time that day.  By that time he had the hand licking routine down pat.  I placed my hand next to the cage, he would reach out and give me a big tongue swipe and I would place some panda cake on top of his tongue. 

Drong being a male panda can be really vocal.  The males like to make noise while going through their exercises or while just sitting around wasting the day away.  The females are quieter and more reserved. 

My “work day” was finished at 4:00.  Dinner was at 6:00 PM so I had two hours to go and explore a nearby canyon.  There is a stream that runs from this canyon and it looked like it would be a great spot to explore alone.  I put on a warm jacket and headed out to see what was up that canyon.

15 minutes up the trail I came to an old animal enclosure.  I learned this was where they sometimes housed new pandas when they first arrived at the Panda Preserve in the earlier years when the preserve was just getting started.

The trail was steep and slippery.  The mountains are always misty.  Light rain showers are not uncommon here in the foothills.  The stream flowed quite fast with many gurgling ponds.  It seemed like the perfect environment for trout, but the local people all assured me there were no fish in the streams.

There were dozens of mushrooms.  Everywhere you looked there were various fungi growing.  Golden yellow, wood brown and even some that looked like they would glow in the dark.  I was really tempted to collect some, but the danger from eating strange mushrooms kept me from gathering any.  Next time I will find a local expert to walk with me and gather some fresh mushrooms.

I got back to the hotel in time to shower before dinner.  Dinner consisted of 8 or 9 different dishes.  Every meal is an adventure all its own.  By now we all had a favorite dish we liked to see, but the other dishes were always something new and interesting to taste.  In the mountains, peppers and cabbage are two staple foods and each meal had at least one dish of each.  There was always some type of chicken or fish and usually a pork dish as well.  Several tasty vegetable dishes were also the norm.

That night I planned to go out in search of a wild leopard, so as soon as we finished eating I went to my room for a nap, while everyone else took off to explore the countryside around the Panda Preserve.

All in all my first day of work at the Wolong Panda Preserve was everything I hoped it would be.  I could not have asked for anything different than what I got.  Because this is a real life experience that unfolds in real time as the panda trainers go about their daily work, every persons experience is different. 

I was the only one whose panda licked their hand.  I like to think that is because Drong Drong and I formed an instant and very special bond.  But probably it was because Drong is a pretty smart guy and figured out right away what I wanted from him.  Of course I have lots of animal training experience which might have helped us get the hand licking action down right away.

That’s all I have time to write at the moment.  I hope you enjoyed my first day volunteering at the preserve as much as I did.

Keith

Wolong Panda Preserve

Sichuan Province, China

Trip Log, Day two at the Wolong Panda Preserve

November, 2006

Today is our second day panda trip at the Wolong Panda Preserve.  This morning we met at 8:00 A.M. as usual, for breakfast in the Panda Inn dining room.  This is where we eat most of our meals while at the panda preserve.  The restaurant staff is always friendly and very quick with service.  As soon as I sat down they brought me tea.  We eat our meals traditional Chinese family style, so everyone has the opportunity to taste many different dishes.  For breakfast I usually eat a plain bread roll and a hard boiled egg.  There are many more choices, but I eat light in the morning.

We were all excited and anxious prior to beginning our first work day here at the preserve.  We were told to meet our “masters” at 8:30 inside the panda garden.  The masters are the panda keepers, trainers and veterinarians who will be our mentors during our volunteer work days. 

Each of us was assigned his or her own master, who we will work with and assist as they perform their regular work chores.  Each of these professionals has a regular schedule of pandas they care for.  The number of pandas varies from 1 to 5 or 6 depending on what work effort is required for the individual animals.

My panda trainers name is Sung.  She is a very experienced panda trainer who had only one panda in her care while I was there.  Sung was responsible for rehabilitating and training Drong Drong.  He is an addition to the Panda Garden who was discovered by local mountain villagers.  When they found him he was sick and in need of care.  The Preserve rescued him from the wild.  This is how many pandas find their way to the panda preserve.

Sung was given the responsibility of getting Drong into good physical shape and then to train him with all the behaviors necessary for him to become one of the strong male breeders.  She must train him to react to many instructions including climbing into the cage that is used for physical inspection and manipulation by the veterinarians.  This training is time intensive, which is why Sung had only Drong Drong to care for.

At 8:30 we all walked from the dining room over to the Panda Garden, just a few hundred yards away.  It is a real treat to come out of the hotel in the morning, walk to the preserve and be one of only a handful of people in the park.

The Panda Garden is vibrantly alive in the early morning.  There is usually a misty haze covering the mountains that climb steeply from both sides of this narrow river canyon.  The pandas know that the keepers are on their way with the morning treats.  They look forward to receiving the days supply of fresh green tender bamboo.  Every enclosure has pandas on the move.  Up in trees, down along walking lanes and just sitting near the entrances to their private homes, the pandas are all waiting.

I was introduced to Sung, who is a get to it, straight forward kind of person, just as I am.  We hit it off right from the start.  Sung has limited English and I have very limited Chinese, but we had no communication problems whatsoever.

The first thing Sung did was take me to the bakery where we picked up the morning ration of panda cake.  Panda cake is made from a special formula developed at the Wolong Panda Preserve.  The mix consists of corn meal, ground bamboo, carrots, apple, oil and some other tasty ingredients.  It is considered too rough on the digestive system for humans to eat, but of course I had to take a taste.  Like corn bread, but better!  The finished panda cakes are wheels about 10” in diameter and 3 or 4 inches thick.

The pandas love this tasty treat which makes it perfect to use as a training aid.  Because it is vitamin and calorie loaded, it is very good for those pandas being rehabilitated after rescue from bad situations in the wild

Once Sung had carefully measured out the morning quota of panda cake for Drong Drong we grabbed a large two wheeled cart, a couple of rakes, a scooping device and headed over to Drong’s enclosure.

Baby pandas are cute and cuddly and we all want to hug them.  Adult pandas are kind of cuddly appearing too, until you see the very large bear-like claws.  We are instructed to stay out of reach of those sharp claws, which they use to defend themselves in the wild.

Using the panda cake, Sung began the morning training session with Drong Drong.  First she had him sit on the scale that is permanently mounted in one corner of his house.  Drong weighed in at 106 kilos.  Sung said that was good.  This is close to Drong’s ideal weight.  They estimated his age at about 8 years old.

Next Sung put Drong through a series of stretching and flexibility exercises.  These are designed to strengthen his hind quarters ( a weak point in panda design).  This strengthening will make Drong a better breeding panda male.

When the exercises were complete for the moment, but some panda cake remained, Sung handed it to me and motioned that I should break it up into bite sized pieces and hand feed Drong Drong.  I accepted this assignment with a big smile on my face.

Drong knew to sit against the cage door and place his face close to the bars.  He would open his mouth and stick his long pink tongue out, then wait for me to place a bite onto his tongue.  I couldn’t resist enticing him to lick my hand.  (I probably wasn’t supposed to do that because I imagine putting your hand inside a pandas mouth could be considered dangerous.)  I discovered that if I withheld the panda cake, just a moment, Drong would lean forward and stick his tongue out even further. 

When he accidentally licked my right hand this way, I immediately pushed the small piece of cake into his mouth while his tongue was still touching me.  We did this a couple times in a row and Drong being the smart guy that he is, picked up on the routine.  From then on when I placed my hand just outside the bars Drong would lean forward and give my hand a good lick.  When I related this experience later, I was surprised to find out that I was the only one of our group who got their hand licked.

Anyway, after this training exercise Sung closed Drong Drong inside his house while she and I went into the outside enclosure and cleaned the fallen leaves from the moat.   I guess fishing for leaves took us an hour or so.  Then we returned to the workers private area, where we had a 45 minute wait until the next training and feeding exercise.  I left the employee rest area and wondered alone through the panda garden, enjoying my private time here at the Preserve.

My second session that morning with Drong was a repeat of the first one, except there was no cage cleaning required.  We just put Drong Drong through his training exercises and hand fed him panda cake.  My morning work period ended around 11:15 AM. 

I went back to my room and organized some notes while waiting to meet everyone else for lunch.  Lunch found all of us over talkative and excited about our morning.  Not one of us was disappointed in how the morning had gone.  The “work” was really not difficult.  Raking leaves and scooping a few piles of bamboo green panda poop barely qualified as work. 

A special training session was scheduled for Drong Drong in the afternoon.  So immediately after lunch Sung and I took some more panda cake and put Drong through his regular exercise training program one more time.  Then a short rest break, which I used to explore a different part of the Panda Garden.  Around 2:30 Sung and I wondered back to Drong Drong’s cage where we met with two of the vets and the head panda keeper.

Sung called Drong over to the door to his house.  The training cage was already pushed up against the bars.  One of the others slid the bars aside and Sung directed Drong Drong into the small training and handling cage.  Drong obediently crawled inside.  At Sung’s direction he lay down on his back and extended his right arm through the main cage into a specially built appendage that sticks out one side of the cage.  This small cage encloses the pandas arm and paw. 

The small arm cage makes it easier and safer for the veterinarians to work on the pandas.  The arm is exposed so that if they need to draw blood samples or to give injections the pandas arm is exposed and accessible.

Next Sung had our panda grasp the bars on the side of the cage with each of his four paws.  To reward him, Sung used a small training clicker which she repeatedly clicked, just as she fed him small pieces of panda cake.  Over time the clicker noise becomes attached to the taste of the panda cake and the animal can be rewarded with just the clicker.  This is important because the rich panda cake must be rationed.  Too much is not good for the pandas digestive system and causes a very messy clean up the next morning.

The training exercise consumed our afternoon work period.  Once we had muscled the cage back into the panda house and released Drong Drong to his outside enclosure, Sung said we had another 45 minute break before the next session. 

I used this time to watch some of the baby pandas being hand fed their bottles.  The babies are fed and cared for inside a special nursery area.  The workers are very protective of the babies.  For some reason the public is not allowed to look at the baby pandas when they are out getting some sunshine or playing.  The only time the public can view the panda babies is when they are in the nursery being cared for.

Us volunteer workers were able to sit alongside the babies as they played and just lay in the warm sunshine, soaking up the sparse mountain sun.  Each baby had his or her own personality.  At two months of age they were still not real strong and active.  Most of them would just lay and enjoy the warmth of the sun.  However, there was one precocious child who would not stay with the group.  As soon as he was placed on the warm asphalt, he began crawling away from the group.  His babysitter would let him get about 10 yards from the others, then she would scoop him up and carry him back to the others.  This action was repeated over and over all the time I watched the squirming pile of panda babies.

My last work session of the day began around 3:00 and went until 4:00 PM.  We carried some fresh bamboo over to the cage and took away the old stuff.  Then Drong did his exercises one last time that day.  By that time he had the hand licking routine down pat.  I placed my hand next to the cage, he would reach out and give me a big tongue swipe and I would place some panda cake on top of his tongue. 

Drong being a male panda can be really vocal.  The males like to make noise while going through their exercises or while just sitting around wasting the day away.  The females are quieter and more reserved. 

My “work day” was finished at 4:00.  Dinner was at 6:00 PM so I had two hours to go and explore a nearby canyon.  There is a stream that runs from this canyon and it looked like it would be a great spot to explore alone.  I put on a warm jacket and headed out to see what was up that canyon.

15 minutes up the trail I came to an old animal enclosure.  I learned this was where they sometimes housed new pandas when they first arrived at the Panda Preserve in the earlier years when the preserve was just getting started.

The trail was steep and slippery.  The mountains are always misty.  Light rain showers are not uncommon here in the foothills.  The stream flowed quite fast with many gurgling ponds.  It seemed like the perfect environment for trout, but the local people all assured me there were no fish in the streams.

There were dozens of mushrooms.  Everywhere you looked there were various fungi growing.  Golden yellow, wood brown and even some that looked like they would glow in the dark.  I was really tempted to collect some, but the danger from eating strange mushrooms kept me from gathering any.  Next time I will find a local expert to walk with me and gather some fresh mushrooms.

I got back to the hotel in time to shower before dinner.  Dinner consisted of 8 or 9 different dishes.  Every meal is an adventure all its own.  By now we all had a favorite dish we liked to see, but the other dishes were always something new and interesting to taste.  In the mountains, peppers and cabbage are two staple foods and each meal had at least one dish of each.  There was always some type of chicken or fish and usually a pork dish as well.  Several tasty vegetable dishes were also the norm.

That night I planned to go out in search of a wild leopard, so as soon as we finished eating I went to my room for a nap, while everyone else took off to explore the countryside around the Panda Preserve.

All in all my first day of work at the Wolong Panda Preserve was everything I hoped it would be.  I could not have asked for anything different than what I got.  Because this is a real life experience that unfolds in real time as the panda trainers go about their daily work, every persons experience is different. 

I was the only one whose panda licked their hand.  I like to think that is because Drong Drong and I formed an instant and very special bond.  But probably it was because Drong is a pretty smart guy and figured out right away what I wanted from him.  Of course I have lots of animal training experience which might have helped us get the hand licking action down right away.

That’s all I have time to write at the moment.  I hope you enjoyed my first day volunteering at the preserve as much as I did.

Keith

Wolong Panda Preserve Day 1

About the Author:
Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. One of his specialization is giant panda bear tour.

Day 1

I thought I would go back in time a few years to the day I took our first volunteering tour group to the Wolong Panda Preserve.  Those of you readers with an interest in the Giant Pandas might find this trip log interesting.

Keith

Wolong Panda Preserve

Sichuan Province, China

Trip Log, Day one at the Wolong Panda Preserve

November, 2006

Today was our first full day at the Wolong Panda Preserve.  We arrived last night, after flying in to the airport at Chengdu.  We were met at the airport by our local guide, Jai,  and then together drove up to this mountain Panda Preserve in a comfortable passenger van.

The ride up the mountain took about 5 hours. The scenery, the people and the countryside are quite different from what we saw during our sight seeing time in Beijing. We all found the drive interesting.

As soon as we left Chengdu, which is a modern city with a great history, we came upon a large open air fruit and vegetable market.  I had the driver stop and we all made some last minute choices of fresh snacks.  The mandarin oranges were the best I had ever eaten.  I found some small finger sized bananas and bought them because they are the sweetest bananas grown.

Once back on the road, we quickly came to the mountain road that would carry us up to the Wolong Preserve.  The road follows the Pitaio River as it winds its way through the deep valley gorge that is the home of the Wolong Panda Preserve.  This countryside is characterized by extremely steep valley walls, cloaked in an ever present misty cloud cover and covered by dense forest growth.

After the intense new construction we have seen everywhere else we’ve been in China, the many old farm structures we now pass are a welcome change.  It feels as if we may find some glimpses of Old China here in this narrow mountain valley.

The people are no longer all dressed in suits and ties or cute short skirts and knee boots.  Traditional colorful mountain styles become common, especially for the women.  Bright blue, yellow and red colors predominate.  There is very little exposed skin in this traditional style of dress.  Large bulbous turbans sit atop every woman’s head.  Their skirts are really long flowing pants that drape over sturdy work shoes.

The faces of these local people are etched and wrinkled by days on end working their tiny valley vegetable fields.  The sun in this mountain region is intense and the UV rays have taken their toll on most of the faces I see.  Gone are the ageless, unlined faces of the Chinese City folk.  These mountain people carry their history on their faces and in their bearing.

I look at all the construction sites we pass with an interest that comes from my past career.  Even here, high the mountains the construction workers seem peculiarly over-dressed.  I seldom see workers wearing what I consider to be the traditional construction site uniform.  That is to say blue denim pants and t-shirts or some type of rugged long sleeve shirt.  Instead they are dressed in dress slacks and jackets, sometimes I spot someone wearing a tie as well.  Their dress may not be familiar, but the quality of work seems equal to anything I’ve seen in the USA.

They are a gentle, but proud people here in this wild mountain valley.  Referred to by the City Chinese I have met as the “local peasants”,over the next several days the local people around the Wolong Preserve prove to be both friendly and helpful to me.  Shy at first, they warm quickly to my quiet approaches to get to know them better.

Most of these local people are camera shy.  Each time I aim a camera at a single individual or at a small group of these local people they smile and shake their heads no.  Their actions clearly ask me to not take their photo.  I always honor their request for privacy.  I find that taking photos of their children is different and very acceptable!

Without exception every parent and grandparent I meet is beamingly proud of his or her grandchild.  Of course I’m the same and this is a connection that easily crosses the centuries of language and culture that separate us.  Every time I point my camera at a grandchild, the accompanying grandparent flashes a big smile and pushes the kid in the direction of my camera.  I build some instant friendships by snapping photos of chubby smiling children.  I wish I had brought along a portable printer so that I could share the images with these proud grandparents who probably don’t own a camera nor even have a photo of their grandchild.

When we arrived at the Panda Inn last night it was early evening, about 6:00 PM.  We arrived just in time for dinner.  Was I ever surprised when I first entered my room to find the windows wide open and a bitingly cold wind blowing the drapes wildly about.  The temperature inside my room was probably 33 degrees F.  I quickly closed the windows, pulled the drapes and turned the heater on high to let the room warm up while I ate dinner.

I later learned that the local people believe you must keep the doors and windows open in your home to allow the bad air and spirits to leave.  At first this doesn’t make much sense.  After all they live in a cold, windy environment and most people would want to maintain their homes at a warmer temperature than what is outside.

After studying the design and construction of the old local houses I think I now understand the origin of this strong cultural belief.  This custom is so ingrained in the minds of the local people, that every morning at breakfast I would enter the dining room to find the double doors that face the Panda Garden, wide open to the cold morning air.  Before sitting down for breakfast each day, I would close these doors to block out the cold wind.

This uncomfortable custom grew out of the harsh style of living that has developed here in the high mountain valleys.  The local people are farmers.  They live off the land.  Each person has some small plots of land on which they grow corn, cabbage and some root plants.  Many of these plots are tiny and provide growing area for only a few struggling vegetable plants.  Each plant is lovingly cultivated from a tiny seed, planted in sparse soil that is enriched by fertilizer made from human and animal waste.

The homes are mostly all built on the steep sides of the valley in areas too steep for the tiny garden plots to take root.  Every inch of cultivatable soil is jealously preserved for planting. 

The typical homes are an interesting three story structure.  The lowest level is beneath the living area.  Down in what we would think of as the basement is an area where toilet waste is deposited from the living area above.  This is not the most pleasant subject to dwell on, but it is the origin of the strong local belief that you must keep your home open to allow the bad spirits to escape.  This lowest area is also where the livestock is housed on cold stormy nights.  Pigs and goats cannot survive in the cold winter environment without some shelter.  So this lowest level is usually fenced to keep the livestock in place.

In reality the open air flow through the living area is necessary to carry off the offensive odors from below.  The second level of these traditional homes is the living area.  Here is where the family eats and sleeps.   The living areas are sparsely furnished.  These days many homes have TV sets to receive the one local station whose beams find their way into the narrow valley. 

The third level of this unique home style is usually an open air attic loft used to dry corn and other vegetables.  When the corn is harvested, it is carefully stacked in the drying room on the third level of these traditional homes.  There the cold wind dehydrates the vegetables rapidly without mold and mildew forming.

And that’s why my hotel room was 33 degrees when I arrived.  I made sure to let the room maid know that I didn’t want my window open during the day.  In November the air may feel warm while you’re in the sunshine, but in the shade the air is still cold, especially for a Southern California guy who enjoys things on the warm side.

After breakfast this morning we drove up the mountain to a narrow valley that branches off to the east.  There is a paved access road that ends at a narrow, but sturdy wood and concrete bridge.  We left our driver by the road and set off up a well groomed hiking trail.  Jai (our Chinese guide) leads the way and agrees to stay with the quick walkers. 

I like to take my time and so I bring up the rear of our small hiking party.  Stopping to photograph mushrooms, ferns and spiders I quickly fall behind the group.  When I catch up with everyone about 15 minutes later, they are gathered at a section of the trail where a recent rock slide has covered the trail.  I begin to cross the slide area, but it is slippery and there is some danger of another rock fall.  We have a quick meeting and agree that we’ll abort the hike and instead take a walk along the valley road.

We have all wanted to stop and investigate the local villages at a closer perspective than that allowed as we drive by.  Our driver takes us to the edge of a village and we begin our downhill walk along the highway.

Local people are gathered outside some of the homes, working on traditional tasks that are time consuming and mind numbing, as we gape at the busy women from the roadway. We see woman doing laundry, tending garden plots and watching over small children.  The men are mostly involved in building projects or just sit and watch the woman work.  I soon notice that every woman carries a small ball of grey yarn and constantly knits funny socks when not doing anything else. 

Jai helps us talk to the local people.  She is in front, while I still tag along at the rear of the group.  The photo opportunities demand too much time.  I could take photos in this valley for month’s on end without getting bored.  I use my electronic translator to communicate with the local people.  It works okay with the younger people who seem to be better educated.  The older people cannot read the text from my translation device.  This is the only place in China where I haven’t found it relatively easy to communicate this way.

We use up the morning walking, talking and studying the local villages.  Around 11:00 or 11:30 AM we end up at the Wolong Panda Museum.  This interesting museum has mounted wildlife from the region.  It is a real treasure trove of information about the surrounding forests.  This area is still primarily a Chinese tourist destination, so most of the signs are only in Chinese and we must get Jai to translate every one.

When we finish at the museum, we make a quick stop at the local Post office to buy Chinese stamps and then head downhill to the Panda Inn for lunch.  Lunch is another multi course family style feast that leaves all of us grumbling about eating too much. 

After lunch we finally enter the Panda Garden for our first walk through of the heart of the Wolong Panda Preserve.  We are here this afternoon to sign up for our volunteer work experience.  There is paperwork to complete and a short introductory lesson by Cindy Lo, that explains the rules to us.  She speaks excellent, unaccented English and heads up what is known as the Panda Club.  The Club is the department of the Wolong Preserve that is responsible for fund raising.

Cindy offers us hot tea and sits with us to explain the few rules that we will work under.  Number one rule is to always obey our “master” so that we don’t get into dangerous situations by accident.  Everything else is very basic.  We are given brown coveralls that will be our work uniform and entry pass to the Panda Garden.  We will wear these at all times while working.  The coverall allows all the workers to quickly identify volunteers so they know we are allowed into the areas we will be working in.

Daily busloads of tourists disgorge from many buses and race through the Panda Garden on their one or two hour tour of the preserve.  They then return to the bus and continue up the mountain on their way to another quick photo opportunity.  These tourists (especially the Chinese) try to get into all of the “off limits” areas, to see the protected baby pandas and anything else that might be going on that the preserve doesn’t want the public to have access to.  Our coveralls open the doors to most of these areas.  The exception is the sterile nursery area.

Once we’ve all signed our work agreements, Cindy passes out the coveralls and we are free to explore the Panda Garden for the remainder of the afternoon.  Several of the group set off to bargain for souvenirs out in front of the hotel with the local woman who operate small vendor stands along the highway.  I stayed behind at the Panda Garden and just watched pandas.

Dinner was another big feast.  Each meal is a small adventure all its own.  Jai (pronounced Jou as in ouch) is doing an excellent job of ordering for us.  She mixes the dishes well and quickly learned our likes and dislikes.  I have a special request in for the whole sweet and sour fish.  It is a pretty sight and very tasty.  I just wish there were a few less bones.

We’re all tired and everyone heads to their rooms early to read or sleep.  I go out to the road in front of the Panda Inn and begin planning my leopard search that will take place one night soon.

The night air is very cold.  Because of the ever present cloud cover there is not a star in sight.  I walk down the road to get away from the hotel lights.  As the lights recede behind me, the road becomes nearly invisible.  The forest on the sides of the road disappears and is just a dark dense black shadow.  I’m not dressed for the cold, so shivering slightly I walk back to the Panda Inn and welcoming glow of its many lights.

Today was a very satisfying day.  I sit at the writing desk in my room and make some notes.  I am content and really happy about the day that is behind me now.  I know that tomorrow will be a special experience.  I couldn’t ask for anything more from this vacation.  It is all I hoped for, so far, and much more.

What's In My Carry Bag

Beginning in the top left corner of the photo and working clockwise.

A lightweight sport windbreaker that rolls into a small roll to slide into the bottom of the backpack I use as my carry on bag.

Small tube of roll on waterproof sunscreen spf 50

Tictac breath mints

Cell phone

Headlamp

Small Ziploc baggie with toilet paper and napkins folded in it.

An empty Ziploc is also inside that to hold my dirty socks if I change socks on the plane.

Also inside the T.P. baggie are a few IBprofen, a couple Imodium AD and a couple tagament. 

Extra pair of warm clean dry socks

Can of Pringles

Crushable foldable hat.  Sunglasses inside a hard shell carry case.  When traveling from Asia to USA or back I customarily put the hat and sunglasses in my checked bag.

My laptop inside a cushioned case that slides into a cushioned pocket in the backpack.

I usually carry the charger and cord which fits into a pocket in the cushioned carry case.

A money bag that can hang from my neck, but normally just lays in the bottom of the backpack.  Inside this bag is money from the countries I’m traveling through, extra passport size photos for visas, my frequent flier cards, California drivers license.  My passport when traveling is in a special easy to access pocket in the backpack or in my shirt pocket.

A small but really terrific Kodak video camera that is waterproof to 15 feet. 

The camera I used to take these photos which is a Canon Power shot A3100.

A thermal cup with lid ($1.00 at 7-11)

Inside the cup I carry a Ziploc baggie filled with sweetener and tea bags.   You can usually get hot water for free.  With the large cup you can actually drink some tea, not just have a sip or two like you get with those tiny airline cups that they only fill halfway.

Sometimes I add a couple Snickers bars to this bag.

A notebook and several pens in different colors with gel ink so the ink doesn’t run when my notebook gets wet.

My Kindle Ebook reader.  I still use their simple black and white model because I only use this for reading books.  This and my laptop are two of the most important things I carry.

Sometimes I carry maps in the carry on if going somewhere new for me.

About the Author:

Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. He specializes in gray whale tour, blue whale tour, gray and blue whale combo tour, giant panda bear tour, walk a tiger tour, shark tour, African safari tour, African gorilla trek, arctic narwhal tour and Magdalena Bay whale watching tour. He also writes about Baja travel and gray whales. Keith Jones is the author of Gray Whales My Twenty Years of Discovery.