Taipei Zoo

Nurturing their young is an important part of the reproductive process for many animals. In the animal kingdom, juveniles may be raised by one of the two parents, both, or by their entire family. For giant pandas, the mother raises the young by herself. Fans have therefore wondered whether her father, "Tuan Tuan", and big sister, "Yuan Zai", know about the new addition to the family, after "Yuan Zai's sister" was born on June 28th. Taipei Zoo can now answer this question.

For approximately a week after "Yuan Zai's sister" was born, "Yuan Zai" and "Tuan Tuan" stayed in the indoor activity area overnight, instead of returning to their pens as accostumed. This was a temporary measure designed to grant "Yuan Yuan" enough time to rest and recover after giving birth; it also allowed for better care of "Yuan Yuan" and gave the keepers on the "father team" space for milking. 
Keepers observed that "Yuan Zai" and "Tuan Tuan" were initially puzzled by the change in their routine. After a few days they both got used to staying in the indoor activity area.

Due to a back injury, the panda cub had to be separated from her mother and hand-nursed after she was born. She was gradually re-introduced to her mother's side after July 22nd. 
The hand-nursing stage required more people to work in shifts around the clock. A number of keepers with previous training and experience in caring for infant animals were therefore drafted by the Giant Panda House to provide additional support. 
The presence of several "strangers", the scent of the newborn cub, the calls made by "Yuan Yuan" and "Yuan Zai's sister", as well as all the noises from the supplementary work being performed by the keepers meant that, thanks to their acute sense of smell, "Yuan Zai" and "Tuan Tuan" probably knew something was up.