PANDAS!!!!

We went to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center today. When Kathy and I were looking at a variety of different trips to China, I was pretty adamant that I wanted one that went to Chengdu to see the pandas. There was a piece of me that was worried it would not live up to my expectations.

 

WRONG!

 

Everywhere we turned, it seemed we would come across another panda, mostly draped all over the trees. They were eager to sleep, as pandas almost always are, but there would be little flurries of activity that were so exciting and wonderful. I shot some fabulous video! All of this took place amidst a sea of bamboo. The Breeding Center was laid out almost like a bamboo forest, with paths completely covered by bamboo plants. It was quite striking.

 

We went to the “teen-aged panda” exhibit first. There were 4 pandas there between the ages of 2 and 4, too old to hang out with their mommies but too young for breeding. They were moving around quite a bit, something you rarely see in pandas (we got there early in the morning, which is when the pandas as most active). I got some nice video. Eventually, they all settled into the nooks and crannies of the trees to rest a bit, which was incredibly cute.

 

 

From there, we moved on to the mommas and baby pandas. The Cengdu center allows you to pay to hold the young pandas, but the price is kinda steep. Gary Wiener tried to negotiate all kinds of deals, hoping to get a group discount, but the panda officials would not budge. So, Gary and Susan, along with Ildy Poliner, were the only members of the group who opted to do this. Gary has some incredible pictures of it that I hope to post at a later date. In his pics, Susan and Ildy just look like they are in heaven.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of us got a nice look at the young pandas that were hanging outside before they got taken in to play with Gary, Susan, and Ildy ;)

 

 

Right next to the young pandas were the newborn babies. The Chengdu Breeding Center has had fabulous success lately, with a total of 12 panda baby births in the past few months, which is a new record for panda breeding in captivity. The babies were all born in August and September. Here’s a pic of Kathy standing in front of a few of the newborns, who are still just beginning to get their fuzzy fur.

 

 

Finally, we came to the area with the “Senior” pandas. Ordinarily, you would expect the older pandas to be very sedentary, but we came across one who was happily moving around quite a bit (for a panda). I got a nice closeup of him licking his nose.

 

 

Kathy commented that you felt more of a connection and closeness to the pandas here than you do at the American zoos that have panda exhibits (such as DC, Atlanta, and San Diego). I think everyone in the group was just awed by the cuteness of these guys and how close we were able to get to them. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

There are a few other things I want to tell you about the Panda Center… but it is getting late so I will save that for tomorrow’s posts.