Monday, September 17, 2012

Panda Cam!

I am currently obsessed with the San Diego Zoo's Panda Cam. I even downloaded a San Diego Zoo iPhone App so I can check in on the baby panda ALL THE TIME.

The panda cub (yet to be named, but it should obviously be named something bad ass like Darth Vader or Bruce) was born on July 29, 2012. He's so young, he can't do much of anything, so the panda cam is hit or miss. Here's a breakdown of what I see when I check in:

  • 45% of the time: Mama Panda's butt, as she crouches protectively over Baby Panda. There's no sign of Baby, but I assume he's buried somewhere beneath Mama (and not suffocating).
  • 40% of the time: Mama Panda and Baby Panda cuddling and sleeping. 
  • 10% of the time: Baby Panda lying alone in the den while Mama Panda is eating outside. Once, I saw Baby Panda throwing a fit as he tried to roll on to his stomach. Usually, he's just sleeping happily on his tummy looking like a fur ball.
  • 5% of the time: Something interesting happens.
Looking at the numbers, I realize the Panda Cam is about 95% boring - but I still keep watching. Watching Mama and Baby together is more soothing (and cheaper) than a massage, and sometimes, something really exciting happens. Like Monday night, when I checked in, Mama was spinning Baby around and sticking his head playfully in her mouth. I could not tell if Baby was having fun or freaking out, and I wondered if there was someone I needed to call. Help! Mama Panda went off the deep end! But five minutes later, Mama and Baby were back to being boring, lazy pandas.  

I think a trip to the San Diego Zoo needs to happen sooner rather than later.