For 12 months, panda fans around the world saw glimpses of panda cub Zhen Zhen on Panda Cam, but they were always eager for more. They got their wish in 2008, when PBS San Diego aired “Panda Tales,” a TV special produced by PBS that followed Zhen Zhen from day one to her antics on her first birthday. It was a fun account of a year in the life of a panda cub, watching her develop and grow up. Viewers were able to see the video clips of her early veterinary exams, hear her vocalize, see her early attempts to climb a tree, and watch her play. They found out more about Bai Yun and Gao Gao as well, and heard from veterinarian Dr. Meg Sutherland-Smith, the first to examine Zhen Zhen when the cub was two weeks old, and from researcher Dr. Ron Swaisgood, co-head of the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Conservation Unit, as he discussed the Zoo’s work with pandas in San Diego and China.

Over the course of a year, the PBS film crew documented Bai Yun's pregnancy (Bai Yun is being filmed here, with her breakfast), Zhen Zhen's birth on Panda Cam, and Zhen Zhen's first year at the Zoo for the documentary special.

San Diego Zoo panda keeper Lisa Johnson (center) gets ready to film an interview for

Zhen Zhen Is Ready for Her Closeup

Zhen Zhen, the fourth panda cub born at the San Diego Zoo, is featured as the star of the San Diego Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documentary Panda Tales: A Year in the Life of a Baby Giant Panda, hosted by Kathi Diamant. From Zhen Zhen’s birth in the cubbing den to growing up under the expert attention of her mother, Bai Yun, the cub’s adventures, antics, discoveries, and favorite things are remembered in a delightful look back at what it’s like to grow up as a panda at the San Diego Zoo.

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2008

End Extinction 2007 - 2016