PANDA LOAN DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND : ZOO DISPLAY TO AVOID STUNTS.

Byline: Matthew Fordahl Associated Press 

The two giant pandas that went on display Friday at the San Diego Zoo won't be riding tricycles, twirling batons or balancing on balls. And visitors shouldn't expect Shi Shi and Bai Yun to walk on command, play cards, lift weights or slam-dunk basketballs.

Unlike a pair of pandas that visited the zoo nine years ago, Shi Shi and Bai Yun will act like, well, pandas. And that may eventually lead to the pattering of baby panda paws, keepers hope.

``We want them to be pandas. That's exactly what they're supposed to be,'' said Georgeanne Irvine, a zoo spokeswoman and author of a book on the previous visit. ``That's the major difference in the two loans.''

With less fanfare than a six-month exhibit in 1987-88, the zoo's latest panda display opened Friday for a 12-year run that emphasizes research and conservation over theatrics and visitors, Irvine said.

Only a few print ads and two billboards - one in Los Angeles and another in San Diego - call attention to the zoo's latest exhibit. There are no plans for panda television ads.

Zoo officials still expect crowds, although the long-term loan means there won't be the same urgency that occurred last time. Then, attendance jumped by at least a half million people, Irvine said.

The greatest urgency so far has come from researchers who will study the only set of male and female pandas in the United States. Only 700 to 1,000 of the endangered pandas live in the wild in China.

Research conducted by the zoo's Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species will focus on how the animals communicate sexual willingness using the scents of other pandas.

Eventually, scientists hope the information will lead to successful breeding. Female pandas produce eggs only about once a year and are fertile for just over a day. The program has been wildly successful with other endangered species such as cheetahs.

Male Shi Shi and female Bai Yun will be kept apart in the $1.6 million enclosure - complete with separate bedrooms and a 9,000-square-foot exercise yard. Familiarity can breed contempt even in the animal kingdom.

Irvine concedes science may get in the way of visitors, but the zoo has started a telephone hotline that will provide updated information on the pandas whenever they are not on display. Rain checks will be given on a case-by-case basis.

The zoo's research loan agreement negotiated with China includes a $1 million donation to China for the preservation of native panda habitat.

``There's a major sense of pride that we're doing something to help the pandas over in China,'' Irvine said. ``It was a very different feeling than you had a few years back.''

In 1987-88, the Fuzhou Zoo in China brought its own keepers and trainers with Basi and Yuan Yuan. They were trained to ride tricycles, twirl batons and push a baby carriage.

``There wasn't anything we could do about it,'' Irvine said. ``I know some of the animal people weren't real happy about it, but on the other hand it was a cultural issue. We were glad they were here, although I suspect some people may have wanted it different.''

The Chinese keepers insisted the pandas perform the tricks because it made them more relaxed and accepting of medical tests. Nine years later, tests will be performed, although less intrusively because of better technology and the new panda compound.

``You certainly are not going to see pandas riding bicycles in the wild,'' said Jane Cartmill, director of San Diego Animal Advocates. ``Let's have the most natural situation possible. It may not be the most entertaining to the public, but that's too bad.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Bai Yun, a female giant panda, enjoys a biscuit as she climbs atop a stump at the San Diego Zoo.

(2) Shi Shi, a male panda, does a bit of self-cleaning between morning snacks in his new enclosure. The two giant pandas, on a 12-year loan from China and the only male andM females in the United States, are being kept in separate quarters.

Associated Press