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DEL.ICIO.USPanda cub a crowd pleaser
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some people were camped out in folding chairs at the entrance to Zoo Atlanta at 7:30 Saturday morning, waiting for a chance to see panda cub Mei Lan. By 9 a.m., when annual-pass members were allowed in, there were about 100 people waiting to view Mei Lan and her mother, Lun Lun, at the doors to the habitat.
For the first hour, zoo staffers rotated the crowds in three-minute shifts. They urged crowds to let children sneak in and sit in the front of the glass, in order to better see Mei Lan wobble around the climate-controlled “dayroom.” Staffers also announced repeatedly — sometimes to no avail — that flash photography was not allowed, because the cub’s eyes are still sensitive.
Panda keeper Jay Pratte wanted to be extra vigilant about this. “Lun doesn’t care” about the flash, he said, “but the cub gets stressed. When she does, she’ll start squealing, telling her mom she’s not happy, and Lun will pick her up and take her in.”
Onlookers appeared delighted to finally see the 4-month-old cub, on the second day of its public viewing.
“It was good, because she could walk,” said Presley Stevens, 5, of Powder Springs, who came with her family.
“She’s been following the panda in the newspaper,” Don Stevens, Presley’s dad, said about his daughter. “The smile never left her face.”
Caroline Ashburn, 9, of Forsyth, said, “She’s adorable. She was so cute when she snuggled up with her mother.”
Micki Ferrante, 64, of Stone Mountain, declared Mei Lan “Incredible.” A fan of pandas since visiting the San Diego Zoo years ago, Ferrante added, “I feel like it’s one of my grandchildren.”
“The baby, it looks cool, but I thought it would be bigger,” said Gerald Donaldson, 9, of McDonough. “I wanted to get a panda [for my own], but my mom said no.”
Comments
By susie
January 15, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this
Like 9 yr old Gerald, I want a panda too!