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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Dan Lindberg
Aired August 17, 2002 - 12:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: At the San Diego Zoo in California, it's bye-bye. They're saying goodbye to one of the zoo's favorite fury citizen, Hua Mei, the panda.
Hua Mei is expected to depart soon for China. Here to explain why and tell us about the World's panda, here's Don Lindberg, the Giant Panda Team Leader at the San Diego Zoo.
Well thanks for joining us. Good to see you.
DON LINDBERG, GIANT PANDA TEAM LEADER, SAN DIEGO ZOO: Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here.
WHITFIELD: Well often we all celebrate here in the states, when we get a new panda or if there's a birth of a new panda. And now we're getting ready let one go. Why?
LINDBERG: Well, because there's no future mate for her in San Diego. The only male here is her father. And ...
WHITFIELD: Oh yes, that would be ugly.
LINDBERG: It would, indeed. And she's approaching her sexual maturity. In another year or so, she will perhaps be starting her own reproductive career.
WHITFIELD: And so, Hua Mei then ends up going back to China, back to the same folks that perhaps -- you know, or same group that helped donate the previous panda, the father?
LINDBERG: Yes. Yes. She will go to the Wilon (ph) Center. This is where both Bai Yun, the mother, and Shi Shi the father came from.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then, does the U.S. end up getting, or the San Diego Zoo, get anything in exchange for giving back a baby panda or a cub panda that's now going to be, you know, adult enough to reproduce?
LINDBERG: Not in a materially way. The only thing we get is a little more of an opportunity to help the species along. And that's the business we're in, so that's enough.
WHITFIELD: And, that is enough. And so what have you learned from Hua Mei in order to perhaps -- or perhaps even the birthing of Hua Mei, what have you learned in order to help produce, you know, future births, or to help better nurture pandas while in captivity?
LINDBERG: Sure. Well, of course, they start out weighing about four ounces, a quarter of a pound at birth. And to see something that tiny and fragile be a 200 pound, almost adult sized animal in the space of three years, is a pretty amazing birth curve.
But I think the most remarkable thing that we noticed was that in the first two weeks, the mother panda is not really like a carnivore. She's more like a primate, because she keeps the baby on her body constantly.
And then the bond very quickly begins to weaken, so that by a couple of months of age, the mother's spending only about 15 percent of her time with the baby.
WHITFIELD: Now you mentioned Ma-Huan (ph), or Hua Mei -- we're just destroying that poor panda's name. The father is aging.
LINDBERG: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And so, I guess one would think that perhaps a replacement for him may be coming along in the near future ...
LINDBERG: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... because you want to also try to keep at least two at the San Diego Zoo?
LINDBERG: Oh yes. The whole idea is to have a breeding pair. Now you always take a chance when you have only one of each sex. If one of them fails you, they both fail you.
And in this case, the male was a reluctant lover, shall we say? He had no interest in the female. He's now about 26 or 27 years old, which is quite a bit older than most pandas live to be.
So we do have in the pipeline a replacement for him. A much younger male that we anticipate will be in San Diego by the end of the year.
WHITFIELD: So while it's almost signora for Hua Mei ...
LINDBERG: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... how are people there, who visit the zoo, trying to say goodbye to the little panda?
LINDBERG: Well, of course, we've featured her departure on billboards and on radio commercials, television commercials, and so on. And a lot of people are coming by to say their final farewell message.
One of the nice things we've done, though, is to have children allow themselves to express their views, on video, and we are selecting the best of those as commercials to air in the area.
WHITFIELD: And aren't you also going to be having like an online chat coming up?
LINDBERG: Yes, that will be Monday. I will be online for an hour at noon ...
WHITFIELD: That's kind of a goodbye chat?
LINDBERG: ... yes it is. And we'll answer any reasonable question that people want to send us.
WHITFIELD: Is it your worry or concern that it will be the young people, your youngest visitors who really could stand to learn the most from the pandas, whether your pandas are there an adult, or whether they are departing and the reasons why.
LINDBERG: Absolutely. The outpouring of interest from school children has been one of the most amazing parts of this whole experience. And we hope that this is something that we'll be able to experience again in the year 2003, if we receive a male who is more interested in doing what he should be doing.
WHITFIELD: Because it's really important for you all to pass on to the next generation the importance of conservation and preservation of wildlife, correct?
LINDBERG: Correct. And I think, you know, this is the best age at which to get that message out. There are so many people, not just children, quite a few adults, that are very dedicated to what we're doing. And they've learned so much from this experience. They've become rather ardent conservationists, I would say.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Don Lindberg, for joining us from the San Diego Zoo. And, best luck and wishes onto Hua Mei as it makes it's way back to its homeland.
LINDBERG: Thanks very much.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot.
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