Pandas and zoo attendance

from the L.A. Times 9/7/2007

In U.S. zoos, pandas have universal appeal
Los Angeles Times

September 9, 2007

The giant pandas of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. - and those of the San Diego Zoo - are hot tickets. The endangered bears, indigenous to China, have become so admired by Americans that there are fan clubs, panda cams enabling viewers to watch them remotely, and hundreds of products featuring pandas, such as T-shirts, clocks, mugs and mouse pads.

At the National Zoo, the roly-poly mammals have been one of the capital's biggest tourist draws since two pandas took up residence in 2000. After the birth of cub Tai Shan in 2005, interest mushroomed. Now, the three are spending their first summer in an expanded habitat.

On the West Coast, the San Diego Zoo's pandas recently welcomed a baby born Aug. 3. And in Atlanta, the zoo is getting ready for a big celebration to mark cub Mei Lan's first birthday on Sept. 6. But the news from the zoo in Memphis, Tenn., is not happy: Ya Ya didn't carry her baby to term.

To panda fans, it's all part of the day-to-day drama. "We relate to them because in some ways, they're very much like humans," said Maryland resident Frances Nguyen, who founded Pandas Unlimited, an international group that celebrates the bears at flickr.com /groups/pandasunlimited. The expanded panda home at the National Zoo is part of an exhibit, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat & Asia Trail, opened late last year. Nearly 6 acres, it is the first major project completed in a 10-year revitalization plan. Visitors wander the perimeter of the habitat, where they're likely to catch the creatures munching bamboo or sleeping in a tree.

The pandas helped design the habitat themselves, say zookeepers, who kept a list of the things the animals liked best in their original home - places they enjoyed playing, eating, sleeping and cooling off.

Water ranked high, so their new home includes a waterfall, pools and a shallow stream.

The San Diego Zoo has been a center of panda-mania since China allowed two to visit in 1987. After years of red tape, a new exhibit area was built, and has since been expanded and renovated and is called the Giant Panda Research Station. One of the original pandas, Bai Yun, has been busy since coming to the San Diego Zoo; the new cub is her fourth, all born there.

Another one of Bai Yun's cubs, Mei Sheng, born in 2003, is expected to be sent to China in October as part of an international collaboration to save the species, which numbers about 1,600 worldwide.

The U.S. pandas are of such great interest to Pandas Unlimited that members keep track of them through blogs and panda cams. At the National Zoo, they take turns standing watch during zoo hours.

"It's a peaceful, beautiful place," said Nguyen. "Pandas are so cute. They always make you laugh."

IF YOU GO

Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315; 404-624-9453; panda cam: zooatlanta.org /animals_panda_cam.php4. Open daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission: $12.99 to $17.99.The zoo has three pandas.

Memphis Zoo, 2000 Prentiss Place, Memphis, TN 38112; 901-276-9453; panda cam: memphiszoo.org /pandacam.aspx. Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission: $8 to $13. The zoo has two pandas.

San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Dr., San Diego, CA 92101; 619-234-3153; panda cam: sandiegozoo.org /zoo/ex_panda_station.html. Open daily. Admission: $15.50 to $22.75. Four grown pandas and a newborn cub live at the zoo.

Smithsonian National Zoological Park, 301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20008; 202- 633-4800; panda cam: nationalzoo.si.edu/animals /giantpandas/default.cfm. Open daily except Christmas. Admission free. Three pandas live at the zoo.