I'm addicted to watching the pandas. I just can't stop. The two pandas at the National Zoo are quite active in the morning. Right now, one is playing with some kind of tube. As I was watching, the pandas were initially outside, and then one went up to a door, made a sound, and then the door opened and the panda was allowed to go into the indoor portion of the habitat. Very cool!!!

When I first started watching this morning, the two National Zoo pandas (the top two screens) were both at the mutual door sniffing each other and trying to communicate. The one on the right (I think the male) started marking the territory around the area when the one of the left (I think the female) left to rest on that log you see in the picture. The male then paced back and forth in the same area along the fence trying to get the female's attention.

The screen at the bottom is the Atlanta Zoo's sleeping baby panda. I watched the baby yesterday torturing its mom as she tried to eat. Very fun!!!! I love how relaxed he is laying on that branch.

Oh my gosh!!! The one panda (female I think) was just standing on her hind legs at a door (she went over to the door right after the other panda went to a different area... they seem to be separated but in adjacent enclosures so they can hear/see/smell each other) and started dancing. Oh oh!! She was dancing because she knew that door could open to let her back outside, but the keepers weren't paying attention and opening it.

I know it is blurry... it's a picture of the computer screen of a streaming video... but you can see her standing at the door.

Here's a little video of her getting them to open the door (again it is blurry, but still cute!!)

(Good thing I muted the TV, so you can't hear that I'm watching Maury in the background!!!)

Ok, one last panda thing... so the two pandas were sent (sorry, Fex-ex-ed) back to China yesterday. (Yes, I was watching the live feed of the Fed-Ex plan at Dulles Airport until I had to go to class... the truck carrying Tai Shan arrived right before I had to go to class). I was reading about them and came across this story. China is looking for a Chinese tutor for the pandas. Because the pandas were born in America and only know English, they will need Chinese tutors to teach them Chinese. Hahaha!! How cool is that?? That's something I would have never thought about in the pandas returning to China. Of course there will be food differences (apparently there are plans for slowly transitioning them to Chinese diets), but I had never thought about the language issue.

Ok, must stop watching pandas and do some work today!!!!