San Diego Zoo

Wednesday | February 14, 2001 | San Diego, California: Happy Valentine's Day to sweethearts everywhere! My Valentine and I went to the San Diego Zoo today! What a wonderful day... and as it turned out - we had spent last Valentine's Day at the San Diego Zoo too. Some sort of tradition? I hope not, as February in San Diego leaves something to be desired. Brrrr. The six of us entered the Zoo in a rain shower and it continued for about 30 minutes, and then the sun came out, it warmed-up and the rest of the day was just beautiful!!! Very lucky! The baby Panda had really grown since last year - she is about 2/3 the size of her mother. She has been moved to a different habitat, which allows for better viewing (maybe she isn't as shy around strangers and the crowds are not as large now).

Panda baby


Panda Daddy

The Zoo had an educator at the Panda exhibit and she was just a wealth of information, very friendly and answered many interesting questions. She told us China has loaned the two adults to the San Diego Zoo through 2008, and any offspring also belong to China. In 2008, China will decide what will become of the adults, but the baby may be removed within the next few years. She may be taken somewhere for breeding, after she reaches breeding age, around age 4. The Zoo is hoping to breed the adults again soon, as the Mother is nearly finished weaning and may soon come into season. Females can only become pregnant 3 days per year and last time the male showed no interest... so the Zoo staff did it via test-tube. The Zoo is hoping this time he will figure it out.

We spent all day at the Zoo, and we visited every area except the reptiles, as my Mother refused to set foot near anything creepy or crawly. Mom loves the giraffes best and she was delighted to find seven in residence at The San Diego Zoo!  I am always amazed that they keep their Asian and African elephants together.  It's an odd world.

Alpha-Male Silverback - Lowland Gorilla

I just love, love, love watching the gorillas. Being separated by these fabulous creatures by only a few strands of DNA is an honor! The gorilla family was enjoying the sun, and we spent quite a bit of time watching their fascinating activities. At the end of the afternoon, we all drove down to the pier and had a late lunch/early dinner overlooking the bay. We enjoyed a constantly changing view - Navy ships, water taxis, tour boats and sailboats passing by - plus a variety of waterfowl - and DT fed pigeons and sparrows (french fries) INSIDE the restaurant. We were also entertained by sparrows snacking on the display dessert tray! Mom checked it out and decided the white cake was probably the best choice, according to what the sparrows were eating. We declined.