Tag Archives: san diego zoo

ageism at the San Diego Zoo

We visited the San Diego Zoo recently (and I might have gloated slightly about it). While they have tons of animals (literally), it was the young-uns who won the prize for most adorable.

Let’s just cut to the chase: baby panda. Could she be any cuter?
Mom has the baby stay in the tree sling (available at amazon.com for us?) while she sleeps, eats, and poops. Not necessarily in that order. I can testify that the baby panda had her scene figured out, too, and pooped from the sling, hanging her rump over the edge. In such a cute way.

When we first walked up to their exhibit, two of three pandas pooped in the first minute. I’m sure that’s some kind of warm, welcome greeting in pandaland.
Well, warm at least.
Still cute. Tummy sunbathing.

While across the yard, mama began the big excitement for viewers: no, not more poo. Eating bamboo! I look the same way when I’m eating some that beef jerky the hubs made.

The hubs could have stayed as long as his camera held out. I think he has 53 minutes of Panda Eating Bamboo. Which I’ll probably post here tomorrow on a slow news day.

Kid was not so taken with the pandas, however, and tugged and moaned to leave. This, after tugging and moaning to see the pandas from Bainbridge Island across the park.

Although she did like her new hat.

The other remarkable creature was this:

The Chacoan Peccary. Thought by scientists to be extinct, they were discovered alive and well in the Chaco region of Paraguay in the 1970′s. Those were good drugs back then.

And recently had a river sandal named after them. OK, they’re not so much cute, as alive.

He is cute:

And baby girl giraffe, also cute:

Interestingly, she was trying to get to mom, the farthest one away (head cut off in shot–hey, YOU try to get pictures of giraffes fast!), blocked by the other females. Mom was trying to avoid nursing, so baby would eat leaves instead. Her posse helped her out.

When she needs her alone time, you just don’t mess with mama.

Can I hear an Amen?

So, those were the kids at the zoo. Hope I didn’t bore you with all the cuteness.

Now, we’re just back home to our fuzzy beast.

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This just in:
Rachael at Scientific Nature of the Whammy had this link, ZooBorns, that has photos of babies at zoos around the world. Such jaw-dropping cuteness.