Truly Odd Planet had this adorable photo of two pandas hugging posted the other day, and I just had to share with you!

They don’t have a photo source, so if you know please let me know so I can give credit where it’s due!

I remember when he was just my little Vienna Sausage! On Monday, the little guy had a little fun in the snow – for the first time ever!

There’s only one word for it when this young cub got sight of his first ever snow – panda-monium.

Giant panda cub Fu Long was clearly delighted to be frolicking with his proud mum at Vienna’s Schönbrunn zoo as heavy snow covered the whole of Europe.

And 18-month-old Fu Long really got a taste for snow – gobbling down mouthfuls of the stuff as if it was ice cream, said his keepers at the Austrian zoo.

Isn’t he too cute for words?!

Source

It’s been awhile since we had a Xi Lan update, so without further ado…

How about a few Xi Lan videos?

Xi Lan wallpaper!

And a bunch of adorable Xi Lan photos!

Source (of course!)

Wow, I definitely needed that break! It’s been great having less on my plate for awhile but it’s time to get back into the swing of things! Let’s start 2009 out right with an adorable video of Xi Lan at the Atlanta Zoo! (Click the picture below to go to the video!)

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…

Though we’ve already fallen in love with the little guy, we’ve finally got an official name for him! The Atlanta panda baby will now be known as Xi Lan (“Shee-Lahn”). It means Atlanta’s Joy, and it’s quite an appropriate name!

More about the naming ceremony at the Atlanta Zoo’s website.

Today the Atlanta Zoo panda baby will be officially named today! I’ll be sure to post the name as soon as possible, but if you don’t want to wait for me to post (which is SLOW lately!) head on over to the Atlanta Zoo website after 12:30pm EST.  While you’re there, check out the ADORABLE videos they have up of the cute little cubbie!

It’s been awhile since we checked up on the Atlanta Panda cubbie, so you know what time it is….

Our little guy weighs a whopping 3.913kg (8.63lbs)! Remember, the panda cam will go back to regular hours (10am to 5pm EST) after December 7th. So, if you’re a night owl like me be sure to catch him happily snoozing on the panda cam tonight!

More cuteness after the cut!

(more…)

Dean and his daughter, Steph, recently took a trip to see Fu Long and his parents at the Vienna Zoo! They were kind enough to share a few photos with us, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Look at how cute!

Thanks for the great pictures, guys!

Twenty seconds of pure: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!