zoo is massive and we could not see it all close up but, via a bus, a sky
gondola, and moving walkways, we covered everywhere at least in passing.
It all felt very Whipsnade. The enclosures seem much more natural and
'occupant friendly' than in many other zoos, which was good to see, and we
caught a live show as well where the animals made it clear that they were not
being forced to perform - a message reinforced by the refusal to appear by
some 'divas'.
The highlight of the day was seeing the baby panda. He was only on
public view for a few hours a day and we had to queue and then walk past the
enclosure silently to see him and his mum. Silence was vital otherwise the
mother hid her baby to protect him. We got about 40 photographs as we
walked past - distilled to about four with a silent ‘thank you’ to our digital
camera sponsors (Emma's parents). The baby was very entertaining, rolling
around and looking cute and fluffy with unaffected aplomb. His mother kept
batting him away because she was eating and was not to be disturbed. Every
time she knocked him back there were quiet gasps from the crowd as he
landed close to the edge of a six-foot dry moat round his enclosure -
fortunately no accidents occurred.
After the zoo we spent the evening in with a huge Chinese meal, beer, and
Dick Clark's Rockin’ Eve - a famous TV show to bring in the New Year. It was
actually a bit rubbish, like most US television, but we did get to see the ‘ball
drop’ in Times Square – equivalent to Big Ben striking midnight. During the
evening Emma developed a stinking cold, and we were asleep by about
12.05am.