The 6th Grade Language Arts class atAlbert Einstein Academy Elementary School - a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Art and Math) based school focused on hands-on project based learning curriculum - were recently involved in a novel study of a book called, The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. The book is about a real gorilla named Ivan who was kept in a small mall enclosure for over 27 years and never went outside. Eventually, he was adopted by the Atlanta Zoo. During their study of this novel, their teacher led them through a series of projects to answer a guiding question, “Do humans have a right to capture or cage wild or endangered animals?” Another guiding question that they explored is, “How humans can impact wild animals and their habitats?” One of the projects was to create a music video. For this project, the teacher asked the students to research organizations that had similar goals to what they are portraying in their videos about the animals they have selected to focus on as the topic of their video. The students believed that Pandas International matched their message. Part of our project-based curriculum is that students make meaningful pieces of work that are then shared out into the world so that they learn beyond the book and worksheet and can understand that they have a voice and can contribute to society in a meaningful way. The students shared their video with us and we would like to share it with the world! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Count On Me by Bea Tan ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever found yourself caged in the dark and you can’t see I'll be the light to guide you If you ever find yourself in a zoo and cannot flee I'll risk my life to find you Oooh Ill find out what your made of and tell people to stop encaging you You can count on me like 1,2,3 Ill be there And I know when I need it i can count on you like 4,3,2 you’ll be there ‘cause that’s what keeps you from getting extinct Ooooooh, ooooh yeah, yeah if your searching and [...]
Thank you to our friends at CCRCGP for the fabulous photos and summary of the 10th Annual Hug my Baby event. “Hug my Baby” is an annual event sponsored by The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) and the Wolong Panda Club to thank adopters for their support of the Giant Panda centers.
PI Advisory Board Member, Dr. David Kersey, was featured in the Winter/Spring 2014 volume of Veterinary Outlook Magazine published by Western University of Health Sciences. The article summarizes Yingmin Zhou and Xiaoyu Huang's visit to the university (*funded by PI) last fall to train with Dr. Kersey. The scientists, from CCRCGP, were strengthening their techniques on fecal hormone analysis to improve captive breeding in pandas. The next step, noted Kersey, is to "build the capacity to develp knowledge, bring it back to China, and apply it to species conservation". Dr. Kersey took a huge step to that end last month when he traveled to China to help set up the edocrine laboratory in Dujiangyan. We will be spotlighting Dr. Kersey's journal entries from that trip (funded by PI) over the next couple of weeks here on the blog so stay tuned!
Today marks a very special day in the Panda world, the world’s only surviving giant panda triplets, Ju Xiao's miracle babies, celebrated their 100-day birthday. The trio were born on July 29 at Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. The triplets, two boys and a girl, each weigh more than 11 pounds, up from just over 3.5 ounces at birth. They started teething at around 80 days old and have two small teeth each. The cubs alternate time with mom as she is unable to care for all of them at once. The cubs are "swapped" on a weekly basis so that each can bond with mom and get the benefits of mother’s milk and mother’s nurturing care, a procedure developed by CCRCGP’s very own Dr. Li Desheng. CCRCGP sent the Head Nursery Keeper Mr. Wei Ming to help care for the triplets, from the Bifengxia Panda Base. He says of the triplets, “The first-born appears to be a very gentle girl. The elder brother is a naughty and energetic boy with a slim figure, while the younger brother is a quite big boy.” The cubs in the nursery get a special panda formula which Wei Ming brought from the Bifengxia Panda Base. The formula was provided by Pandas International. At 100 days, Chimelong general manager Dong Guixin says physical exams show the cubs’ health to be ideal. Starting Wednesday, the cubs will be displayed to visitors for limited times. They have not yet been officially named but will be soon, according to the zoo.
