#202 Aug 2018 Pandas and More

One of our family’s favourite destinations is the Calgary Zoo.

The current highlight is The Panda Passage habitat. Four giant pandas will be in Calgary Zoo for five years. What an opportunity!

Along with Dave, Danica and Joey we enjoyed “Breakfast with the Pandas”. We had a great buffet breakfast and learned details of the pandas habitat and lifecycle. Also the responsibilities of the Zoo in caring for and nurturing this vulnerable species.

The group then had an exclusive visit to the Panda Passage with a guide to describe who’s who in the panda world and a typical panda day.

Pandas spend up to 12 hours a day eating. 

Pandas have long, sharp claws to cope with the tough bamboo. It has very little nutritional value hence the many hours to eat  up to 38 kg of bamboo per day.

They are cute and rolly polly but not cuddly with those claws!

Pandas also sleep a lot.

Or contemplate whether to eat or sleep.

The panda habitat is designed to be similar to their native forest in China.

Calgary Zoo has many other fascinating animals.

The komodo dragon has been brought back from the edge of extinction thanks in part to the establishment of Komodo National Park in Indonesia.

Amur tigers come to the fence for food. As they reach in different directions staff perform veterinary health checks. 

Hump backed camels

Black on white OR white on black striped zebras?

Big gorillas

Tiny butterflies

Giant turtles

Curious and playful meerkats

Long necked giraffes

Comical penguins

Everyone loves the Zoo!