Chapter 49, In Which Amalah Goes to the Zoo
… and finds it wanting… (please be aware that the language in this entry could be classified as “sailor-grade swearing.”
But I have to admit, despite attending DCist’s excellent party for the little guy last night, I can’t give a flying fuck about a baby panda. Seriously. It’s a baby panda. It’s moderately cute. But really, are panda bears that damned interesting that there is a whole reservation system just to see them? I just don’t get it.
Maybe someone can explain to me the lure of the pandas in the comments here, because, really, people, Pandas. Seriously. What the fuck?
I think America’s interest in the plight of the pandas began with Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling, who were the two pandas that were presented to the US as a gift from China. They are cute, and since pandas are seriously endangered, many zoos tried to bolster the population by getting their pairs to breed.
Breeding pandas is not easy, since many panda pregnancies result in stillborn cubs, cubs too weak to survive, or miscarriages.
When a panda cub, such as Tai Shan, is born and actually thrives, it is a good reason for everyone to rejoice.
And, he’s cute.
Shame on you Tom! The Chinese have been flocking to the Zoo in droves to learn the art of artifically inseminating Pandas back home. With the dwindling Panda population “Butterstick” might just be the saving grace of everything Panda. As an aside the Zoo’s revenue is up by almost half since the birth of the ever so charming “Butterstick”.