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May 2007
The cutest thief of all
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mei Lan has developed a case of sticky paws. She’s a purloining panda, a sneak, a thief.
In recent days, Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda has been swiping the biscuits zookeepers give her mother, Lun Lun. If mom turns her back, zoo employees say, her 8-month-old daughter comes sneaking like a fat little shadow. Zip! The biscuits, made of leafy material, are gone.
Mei Lan isn’t ready to eat the biscuits yet — she likes to hide them — but she is growing steadily. As of last week, the cub weighed 32 pounds. From little nose to wiggly tail, she measured almost 40 inches. She’s doing great, said Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for the zoo.
Of course, there is that problem with the sticky paws.
“She’s turning into a little thief,” Elliott said.
The thief — er, the cub is on display, and the zoo urges people who want to see her to get tickets online. Log on to www.zooatlanta.org to get yours.
But keep the tickets close if you go see Mei Lan. According to reports, a thief is at large at the panda den.
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Zoo attendance soars
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Attendance this year at Zoo Atlanta is up 32 percent from the same time as last year, thanks in large part to a little panda. The Georgia Aquarium reports a 25 percent drop in attendance for the same period, a natural leveling-off following a banner debut year, aquarium officials say.
Attendance figures for the first four months of this year show that the zoo is enjoying blockbuster numbers. And the aquarium remains a top draw, though thousands fewer people have visited from January to April of this year compared to the same period in 2006.
In real numbers, attendance at the zoo from Jan. 1 to Monday, the end of April, totaled roughly 254,000 visitors. During the first four months of 2006, figures show, about 192,000 people came to the zoo.
Aquarium figures from the same period show that about 900,000 visitors came to the world’s largest fishtank, compared to 1.2 million visitors last year.
For the zoo, the spike in visitors is proof that baby panda Mei Lan is a marquee star.
The aquarium’s tally can be traced, in part, to conventioneers looking for downtown attractions. In early April, both facilities operated longer hours to accommodate spring break visitors.
“We are very excited” about the increases, said Dennis Kelly, Zoo Atlanta’s president and chief executive officer.
The big attraction is likely Mei Lan, he said. Born at the zoo in September, the young bruin is so popular that the zoo recently instituted timed visits. Online ticketing has also helped boost attendance, along with a run of nice weather.
In 2006, roughly 712,000 people visited the zoo, figures show.
The drop in attendance at the Georgia Aquarium wasn’t a surprise, said Dave Santucci, the aquarium’s director of public relations. “We’re exactly where we expected to be,” he said.
The aquarium anticipated a leveling of attendance in 2007, and the decline at the gate isn’t a surprise, Santucci added.
About 3.5 million people attended the aquarium during 2006, when the facility wasn’t yet a year old, he noted. The aquarium opened in November 2005 to overflow crowds.
The aquarium has benefited from its proximity to the Georgia World Congress Center, Santucci said. For example, the recent SAP convention, a gathering of information-technology experts from across the country, was a boon for the facility, he said.
The aquarium also enjoyed strong attendance during early April, when students across metro Atlanta were freed from classes during spring break.
On April 6, Santucci noted, the aquarium had its fifth largest attendance ever — 18,000 people toured the big building, located on the edge of Centennial Olympic Park.
The aquarium expects to have more visitors on Friday nights this month, when it kicks off Jazz Journeys. The aquarium will stay open until 10 p.m. on every Friday in May, offering musical groups as well as groupers.
