…for all who celebrate!
Surrender your pandas!
Sadly, we are destined to be a country without pandas in the next year or two. San Diego’s pandas were sent to China in 2019, and the pandemic, not to mention TFG’s crappy stances on China meant we weren’t going to get a new panda loan agreement any time soon. Noted panda writer Henry Nicholls wrote an opinion piece for CNN about our addiction to domesticated pandas. That might not be quite how he put it, but he does have a point.
Pandas in the wild are different animals, and now it appears there may be some genetic difference between pandas that live in the wild and pandas that grew up on the all you can eat cruise ship model. “Pandas are solitary? Who knew?!!!!” said a group of pandas sitting around the table chowing down on boo shoots while playing Mah Jong.
Any way, now Ya Ya is on her way back to Beijing, alas without Le Le who succumbed to a previously undiagnosed heart ailment.
Could story lines collide soon? I guess we’ll find out.
Stay tuned for further developments!
Be the Bear!
Bob T pass the endless boo buffet Panda
If you haven’t read Henry Nicholls’ The Way of the Panda, you should fix that immediately. It’s a great book about all things pandas, the politics of pandas, and there is a cameo appearance of a ‘toon that was perhaps done by your favorite practitioner of panda satire! My literary claim to fame!
I have to say that I do agree with Henry Nicolls. You can’t expect to re-wild an animal that you raise like a human baby, they will imprint on you. You can’t reverse imprinting, the bears will bond to humans and will identify with them and not as one of their own species. And the whole panda suit thing? Come on, pandas can smell you coming from a mile – they know you’re not a panda! I mean – scent marking, hello! I much prefer how our zoos over here treat the pandas and how they respect them and let them raise their own cubs. The best way to help pandas really would be to stop destroying their environment and let the ones already in the wild grow their own population naturally.
The Chengdu and Wolong bases have different philosophies on the re-wilding issues. I think the Wolong base has the better system: much wilder areas for mother pandas to raise cubs that will eventually be introduced to the wild, minimal human contact. I saw some of the panda suits when we visited Wolong and they are…um…fragrant, so they might actually fool the pandas.
It’s a tricky issue. without creating interest in pandas by raising them in captivity, China would never have taken the step of establishing new wildlife corridors. Nothing is easy or (heh) black or white.
But, but, but… Pinky and the rest of our pandas will be staying here on The Panda Chronicles, right? RIGHT??!?
Never fear, never fear! Pinky and company will stay right where they are, creating meihem on an unsuspecting populace!I imagine Frank and Mikey (not to mention the Pookies) will help keep things going, but at least for the foreseeable future, I’m not planning on exiting, stage panda. Far be it from me to let reality intrude on the universe I’ve created and chosen to live in. After all, the real life Mehitabel exited over 6 years ago, and she still holds the anchor seat at ZooNooZ, with no signs of disincorporating.
Looking at our cartoon…
I’m so sad at losing Ya Ya, but hopefully the incoming flight is Frank and Mikey safely returning the babies. (With Ppj’s help, of course.). And I hope Josie recognizes everything her sweet brothers have done to keep her Pookie safe and thanks them graciously. 😉
(Shall I hold my breath?)
Funny you should mention that incoming flight. As to Josie ever doing any thing graciously (especially when her esteemed brothers are concerned, well…hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Stay ‘tooned for next weeks’ ‘toons!