Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal. To meet the Interns, read the Intern Profiles.

In 1996, two giant pandas, Bai Yun and Shi Shi, came to the San Diego Zoo on loan from China. When the pandas first came to the Zoo, very little was known about them. Several divisions from Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES), veterinary services, and Zoo animal care teamed up to study as much about the pandas as they could.

Since pandas are solitary animals, if the male and female pandas were put together at the wrong time, the pandas would fight. Also, pandas can only get pregnant two to three days out of the year. The scientists at CRES had to closely watch the panda’s hormone levels so that they could breed the pandas.

In 1999, Bai Yun gave birth to the first panda in North America to make it to adulthood. This was quite an accomplishment. Pamela Crowe, who works at the Giant Panda Research Center, told us just a small bit about the volumes of research that have been accomplished in the nearly ten years they have been in San Diego. Twice a day she goes out to the panda enclosure and observes the pandas. The cumulative data from these observations both here and at the Wolong facility in China, and the analysis of the information, have led to major changes in the way pandas are cared for in zoos and major increases in the number of panda babies.
Thanks to the work of the San Diego Zoo, CRES, and China, the pandas are still around for everyone to enjoy.

-Hayley, Zoo InternQuest, Real World,

Saving pandas
Pandas are one of my most favorite animals, so ending our Zoo InternQuest experience with a visit to these cute, furry bears was awesome. We met with Pamela Crowe, a research animal technician, who observes these rare mammals at the Zoo. Ms. Crowe makes observations about the pandas’ behavior, using charts to show their behavioral trends over time. When making these observations, an ethogram, which is a chart that names a behavior on one side and defines the behavior on the other side, is used. The definition of the behavior cannot include the word for the behavior itself (it’s kind of like the game Taboo!).This makes it possible for anyone observing an animal to match a behavior seen to one on the chart.

When we agreed on the definitions of the panda behaviors, Ms. Crowe took us outside to observe the young male panda, Mei Sheng, in his exhibit. We recorded all the behaviors we saw performed. And boy, was Mei Sheng active! He climbed up and down the trees, walked all around the exhibit, ate and drank, and made a vocalization called a bleat, which sounds just like its name. It was then that I realized just how hard it is to record every behavior an animal does, especially if that animal is being active.

Watching and recording the behavior of Mei Sheng was fun, but for Ms. Crowe this exercise has applications to conservation as well. Meticulously banking data on the behavior of the pandas at the Zoo can help researchers and scientists apply that information to the behavior patterns of pandas in the wild. It might make it easier for field biologist to find animals to observe in the difficult terrain of the mountains where pandas live. Perhaps understanding their communication behavior can guide the establishment of boundaries for parks and conservation corridors so the bears have enough territory to sustain a good population. There is still so much to be learned about pandas that all the data accumulated is very important. I believe this was a very fitting way for the Zoo InternQuest experience to come to a close, with the message that there is always more to be learned about an animal, and that the more knowledge is gained, the higher an endangered species’ chances for survival are.

- A.J., InternQuest, Conservation Team

Panda-rific Profession
Research animal technician Pamela Crowe has been working at the Zoo for five years and she both loves and appreciates her job. One of the most important parts of the job of a research animal technician in this division of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) is doing behavioral observations with an ethogram. This is done to record and report on panda behavior in a controlled setting. The work done here has helped increased the amount of information about pandas greatly over the past 10 years that pandas have been here in San Diego. It was a little difficult for me at first to record the panda’s activities. It took a while for me to get the hang of it. In the end, I discovered how much fun it could be to stand quietly and record the panda’s behaviors.

Ms. Crowe’s career as a research animal technician started with her earning a bachelor’s degree in biology at San Diego State University. During college and after she graduated, she had several volunteer and paid positions in different fields to figure what type of animal-related career she wanted to pursue. One of her volunteer programs was at the San Diego Zoo recording the behaviors of pandas. She realized she loved it and remained a volunteer for three years.

Later, because there were no jobs working directly with pandas, she applied to work as an administrative assistance in the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of CRES. Her patience and persistence paid off and she was able to move into her current position. In addition to observing the pandas, she trains volunteers to be observers, compiles the data in order to write behavior reports, creates graphs that reflect the results, and contributes to scientific papers about pandas.

A research technician is part of a team, Ms. Crowe emphasized. She, along with many other observers, keepers, and scientists, have been gathering the information that hopefully will help put pandas back in the wild and help their population grow.

-Elizabeth, Zoo Internquest, Animal Careers Team

Posted in Uncategorized | Link to this post

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.