Mei Lan the panda is on her way to Chengdu, China. She was born at Zoo Atlanta in 2006 under an agreement that all pandas in American zoos belong to China. Today she is being shipped to Washington DC, where she will join Tai Shan, the panda born at the National Zoo. The two will be the only cargo aboard a FedEx 14-hour non-stop flight to China.
Three giant pandas remain at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan's parents and an infant. Link -via Metafilter
More on Mei Lan.
More on Tai Shan.
After a caravan to the airport and a ride past dozens of waiting photographers, Mei Lan was lifted into the 777 Freighter emblazoned with panda logos. Shortly after 8 a.m., the door was closed, the plane taxied and the flight took off.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed agreed it was fine to be “reflective, or even wistful” about Mei Lan’s departure, but important, too, to remember that she’s a healthy member of an endangered species, and by moving to China, she can help her kind survive. (Reeds advice to her: “be fruitful and multiply.”) Scientists estimate there are about 1,600 Giant Pandas in the wild. About 300 live in captivity, mostly in China.
Three giant pandas remain at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan's parents and an infant. Link -via Metafilter
More on Mei Lan.
More on Tai Shan.
Comments (6)
Usually I just go: Fat cats say meow. He could also, sort of, say hello. But he stopped once he realized I'd feed him whether or not he said it.
Our cat is deaf and she has conversations with everyone. loud conversations.
Watching this makes me sad, though. My sweet little girl Kit N. sounded like this cat all the time. We lost her on Thursday. She was 10 years old.
I miss you, Kit N. :-(
How much do you wanna bet that *meow purr* translates to 'Shut the f(*& up I'm trying to sleep here!'