The National Zoological Park, or the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, founded nearly 130 years ago in 1889. (The National Zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which makes it a museum of sorts, a museum of animals and plants.)
We visited the National Zoo with daughter Sally. It turns out that she is a big zoo fan. So, we spent the better part of a day visiting all parts of the zoo, even the dreaded Reptile Discovery Center. Susan suppressed her mortal fear of snakes and ventured inside.
The National Zoo is famous for its giant pandas from China.
The first two arrived in 1972 and pandas have been there since then. Today's residents are Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who gave birth to Bei Bei. When we visited, the pandas were locked inside--two of them due to the extreme heat and one (Mei Xiang) because she might be pregnant. Apparently, it is hard to tell whether a female giant panda is pregnant because the symptoms of pregnancy and pseudo-pregnancy are similar.
Fortunately, panda cams allowed us to view the pandas remotely. You can look in on Mei Xiang by clicking here.
Plus, Sally and Susan were able to get up close and personal with a colorful replica panda (pictured below).
Here is a photographic safari of our visit to the National Zoo. Enjoy!
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| A Sand Cat resting in a pen |
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| An Orangutan playing with a paintbrush |
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| A lounging Gorilla |
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| A baby Orangutan playing with a ball |
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| Two necking turtles |
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| A resting Lemur - what we wanted to do after braving the heat of the Zoo |
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| A family of Meerkats |
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