Pandas!
“I didn’t do it!”
Hello dear readers of Roelof’s blog!
Urged by my dear mother, this post gets priority. 
The absolute highlight of our stay Chengdu was our visit to the panda research base there. The full name is Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and it is one of the most important panda bases in the world. It now harbours over 80 living pandas and numerous pandas have been born and bred there.
We left the hostel petty early at around 7, because we were told that the pandas would be fed at around 8:30. This was a good tip, when we arrived the pandas just started their breakfast, and we could make some hilarious pictures. At first we were almost alone and it was just wonderful.
Breakfast party!
Pandas are even slower and clumsier in real life then as they are portrayed in popular media, it was just so endearing to watch these fabulous animals walk around, grap some bamboo and then roll backwards do devour it slowly, savouring every bite.
“My mommy alwys says have a beautiful back.”
“See?”
“My favourite spot.”
After the breakfast they started to become ever calmer, and started looking for a nice spot to slumber, just like this cute fellow. His backside was even more endearing, but see for yourself:
“As comfy as can be.”
While some were napping, others were still eating. Comfortably. Uncompromised comfort seems to be a major thing in panda lifestyle. Quite inspiring, actually.
“Huh?”
Apparently pandas in captivity can be very social animals, although they are mostly solitary in the wild.
I want one for my naps as well…
Oh how we loved this guy.
But this one was neat,too. He was the biggest panda we found there.
Did I mention that this guy in the tree was cute?
I never realized that pandas are so fond of sleeping in trees.
“Naah, I don’t really like the view from this side…”
“Maybe it’s better from over here?”
“Definitely!”
“Chillin’!”
A bit later we found another panda in a tree, but this one seemed to almost fall down. Simply gorgeous! I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
A smaller part of the base had red pandas, an animal that I had never seen alive before. They were almost cuter than the giant pandas! But look for yourself:
“Look, a helicopter!”
I really love the next two pictures…
We had a wonderful day, and if anyone of you ever comes to China, be sure to consider a visit to a panda base. I haven’t been able to figure out why, but these animals touch a chord among humans. It is great that so much effort is put into their preservation. China is willing to go very far for this national symbol (e.g. killing a panda is punishable by death…).
Greetings from afar,
4 comments
Super! Dank je wel! Kus van mama
total klasse!!
muss chinesisch lernen und meine ökologie/zoologie FII dort machen *g* tolle Bilder!! Kannst du mir 1030781 in groß zukommen lassen?
*knuffl* und noch viele schöne erlebnisse!!
Hallo Roelof, werkelijk … heel interessant en vermakelijk. Helaas kan ik de links over de rode panda’s niet openen: P1030838.jpg
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Doe ik iets fout? Hartelijke groet, Oma
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Ik denk dat ik vanavond nog eens KungFu Panda ga bekijken
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