New Giant (small) Panda at the San Diego Zoo
Posted August 21, 2009 , trackbackIt’s been a busy time for the giant pandas at San Diego’s world renowned zoo this past week!
First up, two birthdays were celebrated this week. Su Lin (meaning ‘a little bit of something very cute’ in Chinese) celebrated her fourth birthday on Monday with a massive two-tiered “cake” made of ice, carrots, bamboo and apples. And yes of course, it was topped with a giant 4.
The other birthday was for Zhen Zhen (meaning ‘precious’), who celebrated her second birthday with a smaller cake, also made of ice and goodies. What to give a panda who’s well taken care of by zoo staff? Both pandas received birthday gift boxes full of biscuits made especially for pandas.
Happy 4th birthday, Su Lin!
It’s a… stick of butter?
The biggest news to come out of San Diego Zoo this week is that momma panda Bai Yun (meaning ‘white cloud’) gave birth to her fifth panda cub! This happened just before 5am on Wednesday, August 5. The baby cub, who they initially believe to be a boy, is about the size of a stick of butter and weighs in at approximately 4 ounces.
The new cub (top of photo) with mamma
In addition to her two cubs currently at the San Diego zoo, Bai Yun is also mother to Hua Mei (the first panda born in the Western Hemisphere since 1990) and Mei Sheng (the only male panda born in San Diego). Both of these pandas have now returned to the Wolong Giant Panda Research Station in China, as part of the agreement between the San Diego Zoo and the Panda Research Station.
Hua Mei has gone on to be an amazing breeder, having given birth to three sets of twins and a single cub.
Viator offers admission tickets to the San Diego zoo (we also offer a San Diego zoo ticket with transport from local hotels). Though you won’t be able to see Bai Yun or her new cub for a few months (unless you’re watching them on the zoo’s Panda Cam), there are always her two offspring (and their dad, let’s give pappa panda some due props!) to see. The San Diego zoo is one of the only places in the United States that you can see these rare and gorgeous animals!
-Jenny Crossling
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s San Diego tours & things to do in San Diego, from San Diego theme park tickets such as SeaWorld, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo.
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