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To an outsider， playing with pandas all day may seem like a fun job， but it’s not as great as it may seem. The staff members of the panda breeding centers always work long hours， and during females’ ovulation， pregnancy and birthing periods， they often stay up all night. Pandas may all seem warm and cuddly， but they have different personalities： Some are timid， some are antisocial， some are mischievous and some are cranky. For hot-tempered pandas with possible psychological problems， breeders must spend more time communicating with them as if they’re friends.
“Once there was a panda named Zhuangzhuang. He had a very bad temper， perhaps because he once lived in cramped space in hot Hainan Province，” recalls Li Desheng， deputy director of Wolong National Nature Reserve. “When he returned to the reserve， he always shouted at the feeders， pawed the ground and grabbed food hastily. To cure him， we formulated a special plan involving increased face-to-face contact with feeders. We repeated his name often and touched him gently. We put his food in several places so he could easily find it. Gradually， Zhuangzhuang’s temper calmed.”
Routine tasks for a feeder are cleaning the pandas’ dens， feeding and chatting with them. When infants are around， the work increases. If the mother doesn’t know how to breastfeed or the newborn doesn’t figure it out， the feeder will pump breast milk. If the mother produces extra breast milk， the feeder will pump it for other newborns or refrigerate it for later. The feeder must also take newborns to regular physical checkups. “New mothers are often on high alert，” explains Wu Tianhong with Wolong National Nature Reserve.“Before we trespass in her house， we have to study her eyes – if she glares at us， we have to retreat. If she looks friendly， we can go in. Lactating mothers are the easiest to enrage. So we must pet her constantly to show we will not hurt her. But if I move my hand close to her breast， she might think I am trying to take her baby and swat my hand away. Then， I have to pause and continue caressing her to make her relaxed. Sometimes we have to repeat this many times until we finally pump the breast milk.”
When pandas are a half year old， they must leave their mothers to live in a “kindergarten” for another two years. Sixteen cubs attend He Changgui’s “kindergarten.” It is difficult for outsiders to tell them apart. “At first， I also couldn’t tell who was who，” admits He. “But I noted their distinct traits and now I can easily identify each one.”
One-year-old pandas don’t yet have full teeth but do have sharp claws. To prevent fighting when distributing food， He Changgui usually places their milk bowls in different places. But some bullies still finish quickly and rush to for others’. When this happens， He and his colleagues will distract them with steamed buns. After the little fellows finish their milk， the feeders will help wipe their mouths. “It’s to prevent them from licking their bodies because that increases the likelihood of bacteria getting into their mouths.”
