DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022 • NAT GEO KIDS (^11)
GIANT PANDA
Wolong National
Nature Reserve,
China
CHIMPS
Dvur Králové nad
Labem, Czech
Republic
SEALS
Antarctica
Dvur Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic
This is one wild virtual playdate.
Two zoos set up daily video calls
between their groups of chimpanzees
to keep the primates entertained and
active during the COVID-19 lockdown. At
first, the animals reacted the way they
would in the wild—by trying to scare each
other, says Michal Št’astný, who works at
one of the participating zoos.
“Chimpanzees try to show how powerful
they are when they meet a new chimp,”
chimp expert Amy Fultz says. “Their
behavior says, ‘Look how hard I kick
this door! Look how far I throw
AM I
ON MUTE?
Video C
hat
this thing! I’m strong and tough.’”
But after a few sessions, the animals
relaxed. “They kept looking behind the
screen to figure out where the images
were coming from,” Št’astný says.
Eventually, the chimps even brought veggies
to the screen, perhaps to try to make
friends. (Št’astný says the apes often offer
their treats to zookeepers.)
“Like us, the chimps need a reason to
get up and move around,” Št’astný says.
“But soon the zookeepers will have to
come up with something new!”
—Neil C. Cavanaugh
Wolong National Nature Reserve,
China
A camera set up to monitor park
wildlife captured some amazing
images: the first photos of an
all-white giant panda in the wild.
“We’ve seen rare brown-and-
white pandas, but this has never
been observed before,” panda
biologist Marc Brody says.
The panda has a condition called
albinism (pronounced AL-buh-nih-
zum), in which the cells that create
the color of skin, hair, fur, and eyes
aren’t working the way they do for
most animals. This creates an all-
white body. Its eyes appear pink
because without color in the irises,
red blood vessels show through.
Although the condition isn’t
painful, it might make life difficult
for the panda: Vision problems
could create challenges when
finding food. But so far, experts
think the panda looks well-fed,
healthy, and supercute.
—Susan B.B. Schabacker
I’VE ALWAYS
WANTED TO
LOOK LIKE
A POLAR
BEAR.
White
Spotte
d
Pand
a
Record
Chimps
VIDEO SCREEN
M THE CHIMP
HAS A VIDEO
PLAYDATE AT
DVUR KRÁLOVÉ
SAFARI PARK
WITH APES AT
ANOTHER ZOO.
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(Antfer)
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