Sshhh!! Don't tell Po about the upcoming vaccination!
It’s that time of the year! Vaccines! Little Po is getting geared up (actually, he isn’t doing anything, but the Zoo Atlanta staff is getting geared up) to receive his vaccines next week.
Here is an update from panda keeper Jen:
We’ll also do a quick physical just to make sure he’s doing just fine and keep a close eye on him afterwards to make sure he doesn’t have an adverse reaction to the vaccines. In order to receive his vaccines and physical, we’ll have to manually restrain him for a few minutes. For the adult pandas, we’re able to give vaccines voluntarily by asking the pandas to present their shoulders. This is something they have been trained to do and are really comfortable doing. Obviously little Po isn’t trained to present his shoulder, yet. We’re still working on mastering shifting on and off exhibit on command! So we’ll have to hold him. That may sound like an easy task, but he weighs over 27 kg and so it’s not as easy as one might think! Po may look small, but he’s very strong for his size. I expect all will go smoothly and after it’s over we will shower him with treats. Because let’s face it – who likes getting shots?!
Source: Zoo Atlanta
