a day at the zoo

This one is a little late, but...while we were in DC last month, we had one full family day between my work conference and Ross and Sarah-Michelle's wedding. Bob and I have both been to DC before and done a lot of the historical things, and neither of us are much of a museum-person. We would have liked to have visited the International Spy Museum, but since Claire isn't old enough to participate, that would have meant Bob got to do a mission, while I waited with her. Not my idea of good family time.

So we decided to hit up the National Zoo. Bonus: The zoo is free! Parking is not.

I love the zoo. We went to the Nashville Zoo a year or so ago with our nephews and niece, and I want to buy a family pass when Claire is old enough to really see and watch the animals. I think she had a good time regardless.

Arriving at the zoo. Sleepy from a nap in the car.

 

 First, we saw gorillas!

Claire perked up when we got her out of her stroller.

Baby girl wore her giraffe shirt just for the occasion.

And, we saw zebras...

...and cheetahs...

 

...and orangutangs, oh my! (Doesn't go that way? Oh, well, I tried!)

 

These guys were awesome. They had these ropes strung across the park and every once in a while, the orangs' would hop on and go on a visit to the other side of the park.

They've been know to, ahem, do their business up there, so I took these pictures with my zoom lens safely from a distance!

All, in all, it was a fun trip. It was warm, but not hot, so we weren't uncomfortable either. Somebody was worn out by the time we left...

While we were there, we learned that a little giant panda had been born just days before. Sadly,  I
read a few weeks ago that the cub passed away Sept 22, at just six days old from lung and liver problems.

Mama and Daddy Panda (via)

While reading about the little girl panda, I found that panda pregnancy is really interesting. The zookeepers really didn't know whether Mama Mei Xiang was pregnant at all and were watching with waited breath during the time she would deliver after being artificially inseminated months prior. Apparently, pandas can exhibit false pregnancy symptoms. Obviously, Mei Xiang was, in fact, pregnant. The cub was born seemingly healthy and the zookeepers allowed Mama to care for her. After her baby's death, which she alerted zookeepers to by honking in distress, she cuddled with a Kong toy for days almost in substitution. Poor Mama. 
 
And there you go...more than you never knew you wanted to know about panda pregnancy.