Soul Solutions

16 May–new panda keeper

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:56:00 GMT

Got up early but the pandas weren’t out and about much at all today. Erlang was up near the side fence chilling just before first feed at 8. Today I had yet a different keeper. This one is the usual keeper for YaYa and Erlang. So after 2 days of pretty much being left alone to do everything, Mr. Lee did a lot of the work for me. He was very cute with them, tummy rubbing, doing some strength training etc. He got me to hand feed them the apples I usually throw in which was a bit scary putting my fingers that close to those big teeth. Last session of the day he got me to do some strength training with an apple on a stick making them climb right up high. No wonder these two are such good climbers.

John got a few pictures of his panda Dabor out in the yard doing some training with an apple on a stick.

No school or keeper english training today so it was fairly quiet. Tomorrow we’re doing our last english lesson with the teachers, doing a best of everyone’s picture night, and letting off some fireworks so should be a busy last full day. Friday we head back to Xi’an.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an

15 May–Pandas, kids and a safety lesson

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:13:00 GMT

The pandas weren’t very active this morning. Many weren’t out at all or just sitting a long way from the camera.

Erlang and YaYa were up on the hill mediating.

Others were looking for someone to play with. I had a different keeper today but she was just checking in on me. So I was pretty much left to move, clean, feed and generally just not get my arms ripped off by myself. While it’s nice they trust me to look after their precious pandas I do worry that someone might pop past and let the pandas back into the enclose while I’m out there picking up panda poo. To guard against this, I place lots of tools inside the cage and near the tunnel to indicate that I’m outside in the hope that they’ll at least come into the cage to move them and maybe notice me before they let them loose.

I did the clean at 2 and fed them their 4pm milk early so I could go back to the school with Norma to work with the grade 6 class.

We read some dialog and then the kids repeated it a few times and then had to answer some questions. Their English writing is crazy neat!

Norma encouraged a few of the students through a few of the lines.

Then to end off a picture of the class. On the right is the teacher and her little girl.

At 5 we did our 2nd lot of teaching the keepers English. We did some numbers/time and then some safety. Moyra dressed up in Rebecca’s panda souveniers to play the panda that grabs the volunteer who is too close to the bars. It was hilarious to watch!

After dinner we walked up to the leaning pagoda. It’s an old Buddhist temple that’s a bit overgrown.

The new temple being built was lit up on our way down the hill. Tomorrow I have more panda duty but no activities to skip out on so looks like I’ll do the full 4 sessions at the correct times tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an

14 May–Busy day–Panda duty, kids, english teaching, new panda base

Sun, 13 May 2012 22:50:00 GMT

After all the rain we had our first blue sky. The smog was gone and we could clearly see the mountain. I don’t want to think too hard about what happened to the smog but it’s great to see blue sky.

The pandas were out and playful this morning. They were up the trees.

Rolling around on the ground together.

They did a lot of wrestling this morning. It was like a 3 round match. Lots of tumbling, jumping and biting.

I’ve got the little pair this week – Erlang the male and YaYa the female. YaYa is a lot bigger and has a bit of black around her face. Erlang is smaller and has a black dot near his eye.

After lunch, Norma and I went to the local school. She wanted to do some english teaching so I went along as the official photographer She taught the grade 4 class a nursery rhyme.

She also taught them some actions to go along with the words.

After a few rounds, one by one they got up and did it all by themselves.

Intense concentration.

This little girl was so scared. Norma went over for support and helped her through it all.

Afterwards they were very interested in my camera so we took them outside for a few photos.

Serious photo for the teachers.

Fun photo for us. Some of these kids got some serious air on their jumping.

Seems kids everywhere like having their pictures taken.

Just had to try and limit the numbers so I could fit them in my shot with the prime lense.

The school is temporary while they rebuild a new one. Check out the ping pong net they have.

They were very well behaved. They asked us to come back tomorrow and teach the 6th graders. They gave Norma a book they’re working from as homework. She seemed right in her element today with a grin from ear to ear. She’ll do great tomorrow.

The centre asked that we do some english lessons with the keepers so tonight was our first.

The ladies brought a long a bunch of props to help reinforce the english words for the keepers.

We got a decent turnout for the first night.

Rebecca did a great job drawing some of the other items we were teaching – like the all important “POO”

and wheelbarrow.

So tomorrow will be busy aswell…more panda duty, school visit and english lesson number 2.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an

13 May–rainy day off

Sat, 12 May 2012 22:31:00 GMT

Today was really cold. Got up early and all the pandas were out which meant I could get a few pictures of ones that I don’t usually see. It’d rained overnight so most of them were a bit wet too so they looked like wet teddy bears.

The playful pair were out climbing trees, in their tyre and generally looking cute. One of them was trying to get pretty high in one of the trees and kept breaking branches that couldn’t hold them.

Even though they look really awkward they are really good climbers.

I just managed to get a shot of the brown panda up on his rock pile. Pity I wasn’t a bit earlier but this is the best I got as he ran over. He was really active today, running around the enclosure with quite a bit of pace. Definitely wouldn’t want them chasing me in the wild.

Rose did some work with her pandas today so got a few snaps of her in the enclosure working.

Aside from it being really cold – everyone was in long pants and jumpers today it was also raining which meant it was a good day to do not a lot. So sat around and did some reading, sleeping and of course eating at Mr. Dengs. Everyone is back tomorrow and we’re getting a new volunteer so we’ll be back to 9 of us. We start our week of panda duty tomorrow so won’t have as much free time as last week.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an

12 May–Day off–walked up a mountain

Sat, 12 May 2012 13:28:00 GMT

We get the weekends off so had a bit of a sleep in this morning, then went and said hello to the pandas before we set off on our walk up the mountain in the background. I thought it’d be a nice walk through the trees but it turned out to be death by 1000 concrete stairs.

We’re heading for these flags at the top of the mountain. A couple of the other girls went the other day and took a bit of a wrong turn and went to a different peak so we were going to learn from their mistake.

As we climbed the stairs we could catch a bit of a view every now and then and could see the back of the golden statue we’d walked to a few days before.

As you near the top you hit this first pit stop. The first thing the hits you is the lung full of incense as you try to catch your breath. The others stoped here and bought some of the red tags to add well wishes to friends and family to add to the trees.

Went you reach the top of the mountain there’s a little temple and a bunch of stalls. There’s also a heap of incense. Not want you want to breathe in when you’re trying to catch your breath.

So we headed up the next peak to get away from the people and find somewhere to sit for a bit.

A bit of a walk up the next peak we found a good view and a comfy rock to sit down on and admire the view.

The others wandered up and joined us to sit in the quiet for a bit and try to see through the smog across the city.

I’m really missing seeing the actual sky here. My eyes feel like they have a layer of concrete on them and my skin constantly feels dirty. After the rain the other day it was a lot clearer but it’s started to smog up again. Not as bad as when we first arrived and could hardly see the mountain though. We wandered back down the 1000ish steps and I think my knees are going to pay for it tomorrow. Had a bit of a nanna nap in the after noon before we ventured into town to get John a haircut.

The other ladies had been the day before so we just had to find the same hairdresser. She was very meticulous and would have spent a good 1/2 hour cutting his hair and did a really good job. Cost 10 yuan – about $1.50 Australian. Not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow, might just veg out a bit before we start our week of panda duty.

Technorati Tags: Xi'an,SWARC

11 May–Pandas in trees and last day on Ibis

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:42:00 GMT

Today was our last day on the Ibis. My keeper let us take a photo inside the cages which was easier said than done. It’s actually really dark inside under the tree canopy and the Ibis don’t like to stay still. John and I smashed in both sessions this morning taking 40 mins for the first and 20 for the 2nd.

After lunch the panda keepers were doing some sort of training with apples so we went out to take some photos.

Erlang the panda was up the tree trying to sleep and we were all desperately trying to get him to wake up but he was having none of it, every now and then sitting up before laying back down asleep.

Norma tried to entice her panda down with the apple on the stick, still wasn’t interested.

So we all just took a heap more pics with the panda.

These two pandas however were much more interested in doing some exercise to get the apple. They were quite cute and funny.

As you can see they have a massive set of teeth.

The panda shop lady came today and the ladies spent up big on cute panda toys. One of the girls finished up today and 3 of the others have gone to Xi’an for the weekend so there’s only 5 of us here so will be much quieter for the next few days. Trying to get some washing done with less demand for the shower and hoping to go for a walk up the mountain and generally relax a bit over the weekend.

John and I get panda duty so get to spend 5 days a lot more up close with a panda each leaning how to prepare their meals and clean their cages etc.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an,Panda,Ibis

10 May–Ibis keeping

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:07:39 GMT

This morning the pandas were up and playing in their enclosures and generally looking cute up trees and doing Kung Fu poses.

These guys love to climb trees, and pull on the branches.

I knew pandas climbed a bit but never realised how high and how proficient they are at climbing.

These guys love playing together and fighting in the trees, knocking each other around.

This guy is a lot older and less playful than the little ones. Looks a bit more wise for his age but does like to come out in the mornings and say hello.

The pandas are housed in an enclosure at the foot of some very cool mountains which can see in the background.

This morning we were on Ibis duty. My keeper spoke a couple of words of English – OK and One. So made the day interesting to work out what I was supposed to do. First I watched her scoop up a bunch of fish and put them in a bucket. So that’s what i do but she grabs them and tosses them back. Guess that was wrong. Watch again really closely and she’s manages to weaved the scoop around and pick up the dead fish..got it. Then to weight the live ones into buckets, put them in the ponds for the ibis and do some weeding.

After lunch we’re heading up the mountain to go to this statue.

It’s a pretty good walk with a LOT of stairs, so I think my calves and knees are going to know about it tomorrow. From the top there’s a decent view, but smoggy so you can’t see very far.

The statue is pretty large when you get right up close.

On the weekend we’re going to venture to the top flags that you might be able to make out in this picture.

Afternoon Ibis duty was similar but first I had to fish out the old fish with what looks like a vegetable strainer on a stick. They’re actually tricky to catch. Then new fish, this time I’m in an enclosure with 2 ponds with two buckets so put fish in each which I quickly discover by the shocked look on my keepers face was wrong. So now to fish them out of one again and move to the next enclosure.

Tomorrow is another day with the Ibis. Will try and get some pictures as these ones are grey with a red face – quite a bit different to the ones that infiltrate Brisbane.

Technorati Tags: SWARC,Xi'an

9 May–Playful pandas, takins and fantasic food

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:36:00 GMT

There were a bunch of logs meant to become a swing for the black bears. Unfortunately a few of them had been eaten to bits by what looks like witchetty grubs. Not wanting to put it to waste we had a bit of a fire last night.

Lots of people ask me why we pay money to shovel shit, pick up rubbish and weed gardens. Well we sleep on site with the pandas only a few steps from our door. This means we can get up early when the pandas are really active and get cute pictures like these:

Before I arrived I’d read lots of positive comments on Mr Deng’s cooking. He has a restaurant attached to the centre and cooks all our meals. He’s always very cheerful with a big, wide smile. The reviews on the meals aren’t wrong. There’s heaps of yummy food even if we don’t actually know what each dish is called.

We each pick a dish from the menu of 88 options and get to share them lunch and dinner. Here’s what we had for lunch today:

The Takin’s don’t take much looking after. We were all done for the day at 9:30. So we spent some time today with the birds trying to get some pictures of them through the cage.

This owl has the coolest eyes – not sure what type of owl it is as his sign on his cage says pheasant…

There’s 4 massive vultures at the centre that never stay still so hard to get a good picture of.

This odd looking specimen in the vulture enclosure is “insert specific type here” Eagle. He’s got a beautiful yellow beak and piercing eyes.

There’s 2 male and 2 female peacocks. These guys love displaying their beautiful feathers but move so fast they are so hard to take a picture of. I think the females are getting to know me. I pick them some grass and they follow me around the fence wanting more. We didn’t have much else to do so we went through our pictures and had a bit of a nanna nap. We were going to go up to another temple after dinner but due to the construction we couldn’t get through. Tomorrow we’re on Ibis duty. The other day we were told we were too tall and scary to look after them but they seem to have changed their minds.

Technorati Tags: Mr Deng,Xi'an

8 May–Takins

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:50:00 GMT

Early this morning the pandas were out and were quite playful. They were up trees, play fighting and generally looking cute.

They make this interesting sound that reminds me of a cross between a lamb and a goat. So reckon if I stumbled past one in the wild I would think it’s a mountain goat by sound rather than a panda.

Today we were on Takin enclosure duty. The females look like a large goat.

The males look a bit more like a cross between a goat and a cow as they are a lot bigger.

First we picked up all the left over branches they’ve stripped back to nothing, which they bundle up, dry and use for kindling in fires. Then we sweep up all the much, shovel it into the barrows and done.

On our way back from the Takins the brown panda was outside munching away on bamboo. He’s quite massive and looks like a faded teddy bear with his brown fur rather then the black and white.

Then we headed over to say hello to the Snow Leopard. She’s got the most beautiful blue eyes. Very hard to get a good picture of her through the chain link fence.

After lunch Tiger took us up to a local Taoist temple a small walk up the mountain behind the centre. Here I came across this old fortune teller with the coolest eye glasses. I don’t usually take pictures of people, let alone strangers but couldn’t help myself with this guy and I think it came out pretty well.

Seems that they like to graffiti their bamboo the same way people graffiti trees at home. Don’t know what it says but we’re assuming it’s the equivalent of Bob was here or Jane loves Sam or something.

Technorati Tags: Takin,Snow Leopard,Xi'an

7 May–Arrived at the Panda Centre

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:36:00 GMT

This morning we left the volunteer house and headed to the Shaanxi Wildlife and Rescue Centre, our home for the next two weeks. After moving our belongings into our twin share room which is quite large Tiger took us on a tour of the centre. Tiger was one of the panda keepers and has joined the volunteer team to help look after all the volunteers. There are a bunch of different animals here: Giant Pandas, Red Pandas, Tapir, Ibis, Peacocks, Vultures, Eagle, Owl, Golden Monkeys, Moon Bears, a Spotted leopard just to name a few.

Had our first lunch at Mr. Deng’s today – the reviews of it being really yummy food were not wrong! After lunch we spotted one of the pandas up the tree. This afternoon we spent a couple of hour weeding around the outside of the panda enclosures. Tough work – when we spot a panda outside we call a “Panda break” so we can all scramble to take pictures like the ones below and when the panda gets bored with it’s food and wanders off to find some cool concrete back to weeding we go.

Had a really yummy dinner at Mr Deng’s tonight. Tried out my kiddie chopsticks which work ok..but i think I’m going back to the travel fork. Tomorrow we get assigned our keepers and get an idea which animals we work with each day for the next two weeks.

Technorati Tags: Panda,SWARC,Xi'an