Jezebel: panda-monium

Baby Panda Takes His First Trip To The Doctor

hortense — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:15:00 EDT

To get your adorable fix, click here to watch a video of the newest panda cub at the San Diego Zoo getting his first check up. According to Dr. Geoff Pye, the healthy cub is "very roly poly." [Reuters], [AP]

Call Off The Bump Watch

Dodai — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Mei Xiang, the previously possibly pregnant panda from the National Zoo, is actually not pregnant. According to this report, "Pseudo-pregnancies are common in pandas." [WaPo]

"Oh Give Mei A Break"

Dodai — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:45:00 EST

The D.C. pandas "opened inaugural festivities" by mating early yesterday. The male, Tian, was frisky, but after 2½ hours, zookeepers separated him from the female, "in order to give Mei a break." There's video! [BlackBook]

Critter Crisis!

Dodai — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:45:00 EST

The National Zoo in D.C. needs bamboo! Panda food supply is dangerously low, and might not last the winter. You'd better send your herbicide- and pesticide-free stuff over, or else: Blood. Kidding! Maybe. [UPI]

Cute, But Not Cuddly

Dodai — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:30:00 EST

"A Beijing Zoo panda known for his bad temper has tasted human blood for the third time…" [Yahoo News via Time]

Smell You Later… Forever

Jessica — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:20:00 EST

I'm not very good at goodbyes, so I will make this short, sweet, and panda-laden.

I wanted to thank Anna and the rest of the Jezebels for being so consistently entertaining and lovely. You have made our virtual workplace a delight and I'm going to miss it. Thanks to the readers for keeping me on my toes and being (mostly) supportive. In the 14 months that I have been here, there has been nary a dull moment, and I've learned a great deal, most of which won't become apparent until after I've had time to reflect.

So after those generic though deeply felt platitudes, I'll leave you with a passage from Anne Lamott's book, Hard Laughter. This is excellent life advice for any human.

I said that I thought the secret of life was obvious: be here now, love as if your whole life depended on it, find your life's work, and try to get hold of a giant panda. If you had a giant panda in your back yard, anything could go wrong — someone could die, or stop loving you, or you could get sick — and if you could look outside and see this adorable, ridiculous, boffo panda, you'd start to laugh; you'd be so filled with thankfulness and amusement that everything would be O.K. again.

May your futures be bright and your yards filled with pandas.

Baby Panda Mental Health Paglia Break

Jessica — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:30:00 EDT

As we're stuck in the mire of economic collapse, instead of panicking, let's do the Zen thing and spend the next minute and a half watching this baby panda play with a ball. It could help us discover existential truths! Or not.

Video Of Baby Panda Playing [Strollerderby]

Pregnant Panda Gives Birth On Camera

Jessica — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

This giant panda caught on tape giving birth is sweeping the internet. You too can watch Tan Tan the panda give birth to what appears to be a squeaky salamander. All the papers are buzzing about how she was artificially inseminated. Just like Clay Aiken's baby mama. Pandas: They're just like celebrities! Clip at left.

Panda Birth Captured On Video [Reuters]
We Dare You To Watch This Newborn Giant Panda Video Only Once [Radar]

Pandamonium

Jessica — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:30:00 EDT

We love you, Coco Wang. Based in Beijing, Coco was inspired to create a series of comics called Earthquake Strips about the recent devastation in China. Wang says of her art, "I hope these stories could show the UK readers the love, warmth and courage of the Chinese people, also the sad and cruel reality of the horrible 5.12 Earthquake." The illustration at left is from a strip called "Panda Panda." Check out a full-size image of that particular illustration by clicking on the pandas. [Earthquake Strips via Paul Gravett via Boing Boing]