Mere Rhetoric: Sunday Cute - Hug the Pandas!

Rarely has helping nature been this absurdly cute:

On the cover of the newest Budget Travel (July/August), a sticker promises "the cutest story we've ever run." And it's about hugging pandas... The story is about the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda that is located in the Wolong Nature Reserve near Chengdu in China. According to Joshuah Bearman, all one needs to do is pay $130 and the staff opens up a gate and lets tourists come in to play with the pandas. Apparently the cubs are like puppy dogs and the pleasure derived is a land version of swimming with the dolphins. Tourists can also pay $33 a day to volunteer at the center and interact with the Pandas for longer periods of time. And even hug one.

If you can't make it to China, a short trip to the San Diego Zoo can bring you face to face with four Giant Pandas. A donation to their wildly successful care and breeding program, incidentally, might not be out of the question:

Today our giant pandas enjoy deluxe accommodations with larger exhibit areas and extra vegetation and climbing structures. You'll enjoy the newer exhibit area too, with its winding, elevated viewing paths that give great panda-watching opportunities into the two main enclosures.

The San Diego Zoological Society also has a 24-hour Panda Cam that can quite adequately devastate your productivity.

Incidentally, many apologies for the downtime this weekend (it's not like anything Israel or terrorism related happened, right?) Something got corrupted in the Movable Type backend that prevented it from working with Firefox. Since we don't do IE, we ended up installing MT 4.0, and if any of you are curious we absolutely loathe it. But so it goes (original story and picture via Budget Travel Online).

References:
* Play with the Pandas: Hugs and Kisses for Everyone! [Gadling]
* Giant Panda Research Station [San Diego Zoo]

Previously:
* LA Zoo Screws Up Again
* Sunday Cute - Bunnies [Video]
* Sunday Cute - Pit Bull and Ducklings With Sub-Optimal Survival Instincts [Video]

About

Omri Ceren is a PhD student studying Rhetoric at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. He lives in downtown Los Angeles.
Email: omri@mererhetoric.com
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