PANDAS!

PANDAS!

Of course I went to the Beijing Zoo.  I wanted to see Pandas IN China!!  There are five of them housed at the zoo, and I happen to get there at feeding time.  You walk into the zoo, and bam!: there is the Panda House.  Nothing like having the best, first.  

Because the bears were actually moving, well, feeding, there was quite a crowd around them.  I don't think that they minded all the flash photos, even though the signs said in all languages not to use a flash.  They were too busy chowing on their bamboo.

And there was anything and everything for sale with a panda on it. The shops do a fair bit of trade, and not just to Western tourists wanting a panda hat.  Internal Chinese tourists are all crazy about the black and white bear.

The panda house was quite a nice structure, but the rest of the zoo was a bit depressing. Lots of the animals and birds are in small exhibit spaces that aren't the most interesting for them.  I was heartened to see that the zoo was under construction--or, as the sign said "consruction"-- and I hoped that it meant it was improving and modernizing several of the animals' homes.

What was also striking was that most of the Chinese tourists there completely disregarded the signs about feeding the animals.  I happened upon the Asiatic Black Bear and a Chinese couple throwing biscuits to it--despite it being written in multiple languages all over the bear's habitat "Do Not Feed the Bears.  It Upsets Their Tummies."  They looked at me, giggled, and tossed a biscuit over.  The bear, totally used to being hand fed, sat, legs splayed, waiting for the next biscuit to drop.  He caught every piece of food in his mouth that the couple tossed at him, without losing his balance, which is actually most impressive as he was sitting up on his haunches.

One thing for sure, the zoo keepers were going to have a mess to clean up later that afternoon based on all the bread that bear consumed that morning!