I noticed yesterday when I was checking the Atlanta Zoo’s Panda Cam that they have announced the end of the panda cam due to funding. You can read the press release here.

Giant panda devotees are encouraged to enjoy PandaCam peeks on weekdays from 10 to 5 through the end of the year. While PandaCam has been a favorite stop on zooatlanta.org for more than a decade, Zoo Atlanta has announced that this feature will soon come to an end. Due to limited resources, PandaCam will not be available after December 31, 2008.

I’m a bit bitter about this and I find it hard to believe that they don’t have the funding to continue. I am no where near a zoo with a panda and I don’t have the luxury (or the funding!) to jet off to D.C, Atlanta, or San Diego when I’m in the mood for panda viewing. Watching Tai Shan during his first months of life on the National Zoo’s Panda Cam helped get me through a very rough patch in my life. Something as simple as 10 minutes a day watching a little panda cub grow made such a difference in my life – and other’s I’ve been told. It seems silly that something that small and insignificant could mean so much to so many people, but it does, and it makes me extremely sad that the Atlanta Zoo is choosing to eliminate something that is such an important part of so many panda lover’s lives.

Not to mention I’m sure there are companies out there that would sponsor the panda cam…