Yesterday, the San Diego Union Tribune reported that 19-year-old panda Bai Yun bit one of her keepers when the giant panda "wandered out of its habitat [on Sunday]... Zoo officials said the safety barrier between the keeper area and the animal’s habitat at the zoo’s giant panda research station was not fully secured, allowing for the unexpected encounter." more ›

Gothamist's head is about to explode, because the San Diego Zoo has just confirmed that Bai Yun has given birth! Bai Yun has been the most productive panda mom in America, as she's given birth to Hua Mei (who later had twins after watching panda porn) and Mei Sheng (although zookeepers weren't sure which male was the father). Gothamist will now have to visit San Diego Zoo again, now that the new Panda Research Station can hold up to six pandas. Six! Gothamist must start our letter...no, email campaign to bring pandas to NYC now! more ›

Spring may be 11 days away, but for the various panda zookeepers in the United States, it's soon becoming time for the pandas to mate. The pandas at DC's National Zoo and the (Atlanta's) Atlanta Zoo are getting ready to get down. If the animals do not successfully mate, the zoos may try artificial insemination to get that increase-the-visitors-by- the-tenfold baby panda. Gothamist has extreme panda envy, and we'd probably back any political candidate who would endeavor to bring pandas to New York. more ›

Thanks to the nice people at the zoo's publicity department, Gothamist got a chance to speak with zoo keeper Kim Bacon, who has been at the San Diego Zoo working with the pandas since 1998. Some fun things we learned about adult pandas Bai Yun and Gao Gao and baby cub Mei Sheng: more ›

In another move of making sure America is everywhere, the San Diego Zoo's panda was named Mei Sheng, which means "Born in the United States." You may or may not remember that the last baby panda, Hua Mei's name means "China U.S.A." Mei Sheng's name also can mean "beautiful life;" he could also be called "Made in the U.S.A." – with the help in the very best artificial panda insemination technology involved. In fact, it was only recently discovered which panda was his father, thanks to DNA testing. The intrigue! more ›

Bai Yun has yet to give birth to the second panda cub, but it seems like she's taking good care of the first baby cub that appeared. Zookeepers do not believe the second panda cub will be born. more ›

Hooray! San Diego panda Bai Yun gave birth to the first of two baby pandas. Previously, on a routine ultrasound, San Diego panda keepers were surprised by Bai Yun's pregnancy and the fact that it was with twins. Also, they don't know who the father is. At any rate, the panda team is trying to see if there is another cub, but in the meantime, Bai Yun seems to be doing fine with the first (in the box outlined above - yes, panda babies look like rats at first - gross). Click here to see video of Bai Yun and baby - the baby's vocalization can be heard. more ›

Gothamist has the best readers ever: We received multiple emails asking why we hadn't posted about the exciting news coming from San Diego. Yes, the news that Bai Yun the panda is pregnant...with twins! And in a plot twist worthy of a soap opera, zoo keepers aren't sure who the father is - they inseminated her on two occasions with the sperm of two different pandas, Shi Shi, who is now in China, and Gao Gao, the panda male currently in San Diego. Truthfully, Gothamist was wary of posting about it is because panda pregnancies are very delicate, especially pregnancy with twins, and we didn't want to get too excited about it. From our panda knowledge, one twin tends to be ignored as the panda mother can only pay attention to one. But the San Diego Zoo is a top notch facility, and we're sure that as we speak, they are trying to force Bai Yun into bed rest with tons of bamboo and carrots. See for yourself with the San Diego Zoo Panda Cam. more ›

SARS affects yet another trip - the L.A. Times reports that San Diego native Hua Mei's trip to China has been delayed. Hua Mei is a giant panda, who was born in 1999 to Bai Yun, and has lived in San Diego since. As most pandas in zoos are on loan from the Chinese government, part of the agreement between the San Diego Zoo and China is that any pandas born in the U.S. must be sent to China after a certain number of years. With SARS concerns, Hua Mei's trip back may be delayed for months. Here's hoping that other San Diego Natives and zoo visitors will take advantage of that and say hi to her. more ›