Gotta love those pandas

Joe and I visited the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center on Saturday. I have to admit it was a very memorable experience for me.

I can remember having a black and white bear as a little girl that I think was won at the State Fair of Texas. I know I had that bear for a very long time. Fast forward a few years to a visit to the San Diego Zoo. Joe and I had gone out to see Jay and the Northwood baseball team play a team in the San Diego area. During one of the breaks from baseball, we took advantage of being near one of the most famous area sites. I loved just standing watching the pandas, although all they did was sleep.

I began to keep track on the Panda Cam on the San Diego Zoo website. Soon there was news of a birth of a baby panda there at the zoo. It is a big deal when one of these little guys is born and I began to watch daily to see this little miracle grow and develop. It's amazing to know that something born approximately the size of a stick of butter can grow so fast into these amazing animals. From that point I also tracked births of pandas at the National Zoo in Washington DC and also in Atlanta. The zoos have these pandas on loan from China and it's a miracle when one of them is born so far away. I still am in awe at how these pandas nurture their babies and care for them.

When I learned that the breeding center was here in Chengdu, I couldn't wait to get out there to see the pandas. We had an English speaking guide, Zhao Ying, that went with us through the facility. We got there around 9 am and as we had been informed the bears were out in the morning sun. Our first stop was the one year old compound where there were probably 8 or 10. We experienced these little guys at morning play, swinging from the trees and platforms, playing in the water and playing/wrestling with each other. Pandas sleep for most of the day so this was a treat to get to see them play. There were three or four of them playing and wrestling and one suddenly went rolling down an embankment. Soon there was another one that went sliding down the embankment where the wrestling resumed. I think I could have stood there for hours just watching them play. Here's some brief footage.

We toured more of the compounds; the adults were all fast asleep. One of the workers was calling the bears by names out into the compound to wake them up. The guide said calling them sometimes got them up and going. We were able to walk through the pens to see some eating their bamboo. They are truly unbelievable creatures to observe.

From the pens we went to the nursery. Over a 14 hour period on the weekend of July 26/27 there were four babies born. They're in incubators where you can view them. There was also a little one just born on Aug. 6. She hasn't even gotten her fur yet and is still this little rat-like creature. So tiny, she seems to get lost in the incubator! They grow so fast that in no time they will look like the pandas they were born to be. I have a great respect for the work they are doing here to preserve the pandas and the success they are surely having with the breeding. You're not allowed to take pictures of the babies so my illegal video footage is brief to say the least before being yelled at by the guard!

We toured an area for the red panda. These bears don't in any way resemble what you imagine a panda to look like. They are much smaller and very interesting to watch. They seem to resemble a raccoon more than a panda.

The day was one I will always remember. The weather cooperated (you can never tell in Chengdu) and so did the pandas. I know it is a place I will go back to many times while we are living here. For a donation you can actually hold a red panda. For a larger donation you can actually hold a "toddler" panda! It's only a matter of time before you see me holding one of those little guys!

Love you!