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June 11, 2021

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Zookeeper deems pandas akin to family members

As the clock indicates lunchtime, Ma Tao, a panda keeper at the Beijing Zoo, prepares lunch for giant panda “Meng Er” — bamboo shoot, carrots and steamed cornbread are among the servings.

After feeding “Meng Er,” Ma places cleaned bamboos in the outdoor area, as another panda “Meng Meng” walks to the food and relishes the meal.

“First, you should respect and cherish the giant panda. I guard their lives with my life,” said Ma, 51, who has been a panda keeper for 32 years.

Preparing daily meals for the pandas takes time, for Ma has to take into consideration both nutrition as well as their different eating habits.

In addition to bamboos and bamboo shoots, Ma also prepares apples, carrots, eggs and steamed cornbread to ensure the pandas get a balanced and nutritious diet. He cooks millet porridge mixed with minced beef for older and younger pandas.

Apart from tending to pandas, Ma’s job also entails improving their living environment at the zoo, which has been designed to simulate the animal’s natural habitat.

“We sow grass or plant trees to create a more suitable and natural-like habitat for pandas. Their feces and urine are placed in different panda houses, allowing them to sense each other’s message,” Ma said, adding that the outdoor playground is equipped with hammocks, perches, pools, and bunkers to increase their activities.

Ma and his teammates also conduct behavioral training for pandas. Training them to open their mouth, stretch out their hands, and lie sideways, will ensure that the pandas are able to cooperate with the veterinarian during physical examinations and they can undergo treatment without anesthesia.

“A panda keeper should be calm and quiet, with good observation skills,” Ma said. “I monitor, weigh and record information involving feces of the pandas. Through daily data accumulation, we can know if they are in a normal state.

“We interact with the pandas every day and they are familiar with our voice and smell, inducing a sense of trust between us,” he said.

Ma deems the pandas at the zoo akin to his family members. “The way they look at you is very similar to how your family members would look at you.”

Ma knows each panda’s personality by heart — “Gu Gu” is handsome and smart, “Meng Da” and “Meng Er” are simple and honest, and “Bai Tian” is quite shy.

“It is like raising a child. The moments of their birth, when they open their eyes and their first steps are all etched in my heart,” Ma said.

Back in the 1990s, he would stay in the zoo for almost three months to be by their side during the breeding season.




 

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