Giant pandas Tai Shan and Mei Lan will soon begin their new lives in China, destined for breeding programs that hopefully will improve the population status of their endangered species. At Discovery News, you can read how the bears were FedExed to China.
Four and a half-year-old Tai Shan captured the hearts of National Zoo staff and visitors in D.C. Spokesperson Karen Korpowski-Gallo told me this week that no one could resist his "easy going manner" and "teddy bear" good looks. (Hopefully female giant pandas in China will feel the same way when Tai Shan is old enough to mate. That'll be in just about 6 months.)
Let's take a photo look back at Tai Shan's life so far.
As a young cub...
(Credit: Jessie Cohen, National Zoo)
Growing up
Recent photos (Credit: Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo)
To view more images of the photogenic bear, and to send a Tai Shan e-card to your friends, please visit this National Zoo page.
Tags: Animals, Current Events, Mammals, Photography, Wildlife Conservation
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