Now at the National Zoo: The Manda

Tian Tian, the adult male panda at the National Zoo in D.C., was reunited with his mate/buddy Mei Xiang for a short visit the other day. They had to do something as Tian Tian has been suffering from "stereotypical behavior" recently. In other words he's bored and it's making him neurotic.
And speaking of stereotyping, does it sometimes seem like the zoo staff likes to project their frustrations with men in general on poor Tian? He's a deadbeat dad, all he does is lay around and eat, he didn't take a Lamaze class. What's a poor bear to do? Even worse, it may turn out that pandas, at least some of them, aren't "solitary creatures" at all. A recent report from China tells how scientists have found whole panda communities living in large groups centered around caves in the mountains. This may apply doubly to Tian Tian who was raised at the communal panda breeding center at Woolong. So the next time you're at the National Zoo, send some happy thoughts towards Tiany - a solitary and perhaps, lonely creature.

Photo of Tian Tian by Kim Choate ©2006 Screenshot of "Homer Sim-Sim" property of the Fox Network