WASHINGTON — The National Zoo’s panda cub, Bao Bao, won’t be this cute forever. And when she’s 4 years old, she’ll be handed a one-way ticket to China. So we need to savor every moment we can get with our special furball, born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on Aug. 23 at the National Zoo. With the reopening of the panda house, Bao Bao groupies can start watching — in person instead of via Panda Cam! — for the developmental milestones she’ll hit in the coming months. “Between now and her first birthday, there’s just going to be an explosion of behaviors,” says giant-panda keeper Nicole MacCorkle. How many will you spot?
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• Bao Bao is “just really building the skills that she’s going to use,” MacCorkle says. She’s not that interested in toys yet, and she’s still getting to know her keepers and respond to her name, with the aid of a sweet incentive. Much like dogs, pandas “are very food-motivated,” MacCorkle says. “When she starts to orient toward us, we call her name and say ‘good girl’ and she can have a little taste of apple juice.”
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• Bao Bao Starts Acting Cute: China’s wild giant pandas are accustomed to snowy weather, MacCorkle says. She hopes the forecast cooperates in giving Bao Bao a taste of her motherland. Not much is cuter than an adult panda frolicking in the snow, she says. “But seeing a cub? That is an experience that definitely all Washingtonians should make time for.”
• Bao Bao’s First Tree Climb: Much like a parent would baby-proof a home, zookeepers will cub-proof Bao Bao and Mei Xiang’s outdoor enclosure before Bao Bao gets her paws on the trees. Those with branches that overhang dad Tian Tian’s yard are a no-no; others are just too high for Bao Bao to safely scale at her age — stumps are more her speed right now. Zookeepers will also secure the fence lines and cushion some of the rocky areas with hay.