Travel Special: I WENT TO THE ZOO!

MIND BLOWN.

This is going to be a Travel Special about my family's trip to the zoo over the weekend! We saw some very special and amazing things.

So on Sunday, my family decided to go the the San Diego Zoo. We wanted to get there a little bit earlier so that we could see the panda exhibit (which is always packed with people) so once we got there, we took the Skyfari to the top and then rushed down to the pandas.

Riding the Skyfari, an airborne shortcut ride across the park

At the panda exhibit, we saw the only 3 pandas in San Diego Zoo. They were on loan from China, and recently had a little baby boy called Xiao Li Wu (Who is not so small anymore, but still cute).

Although they look very cute, pandas' teeth and jaw are very strong. They can eat bamboo raw, which is extremely hard in texture. In fact, they love bamboos so much that the panda in the second picture was too focused on eating bamboos to notice any of the visitors the entire time! 

The San Diego Zoo is trying to breed these pandas and them move them back to China to try to help bring back up their population. There is one problem though. The mother and father just had a baby, but the baby is a boy. How are they going to breed more baby pandas at the zoo? Pandas only ovulate once a year, and the only time a female panda can conceive is during a short 2-3 days of ovulation. Uh oh. 

Next, we decided to go to the very new "Asian Cats" exhibit which the San Diego Zoo just recently opened. 

Courtesy: This video was uploaded by the San Diego Zoo

This new exhibit features 4 very spacious enclosures complete with catwalks (in the sky) connecting them together. Sometimes, you can see the leopards pacing back and forth on the catwalks above you!

The highlight of our trip happened right here, in the Asian Cats exhibit. On Sunday mornings, the San Diego Zoo gives their Amur and Snow Leopards a treat--rabbit. They usually feed their leopards grind meat, preprepared. Lucky us, we were there to witness these amazing cats in action, pouncing their prey and then gobbling them right up! 

The following video will contain leopards grabbing its prey and then carrying it away. If you don't want to see the leopard "attacking" the dead bunny, then I suggest you skip to the bottom. If you want to see the actual footage of the leopard eating the rabbit, then check out my Youtube Video (link is below).

**Update: Sorry, I realize these videos aren't of very good quality. They are also in the Youtube Video however, and the one on Youtube is of better quality than this one. 

Amur Leopard jumping up the tree and grabbing its prey:

Amur Leopard showing off its prize to the visitors:

Snow Leopard jumping up the tree and grabbing its prey (1st try):

Snow Leopard falling off the tree after it grabs its prey:

Snow Leopards (and Amur leopards) are very stealthy cats. They always like to stay in their "about-to-pounce" position, even when they are eating! As I watched them eat, I noticed that their crouching position was very tensed, as if they were ready to bound away at any moment. Their tails are also very big, puffy and long, which acts as a good scarf to them and their young. It is also to help them land on their feet when they fall.

If you watched the snow leopard falling off the tree after it grabs its prey, you'll notice that even from such a short distance, it still managed to land on its feet. It's actually their tail that helps them to land steadily after a fall. If you like Physics and are curious about why this happens, the video below will go into the specific details of cats' tails.

This video is by SmarterEveryDay, from Youtube

Overall, I felt like witnessing these leopards eat was very worth it. It really made my day, and I hope it made yours, too! If you want to watch me talk about the trip and see the the leopard actually eating the rabbit, then check out the Youtube video I made below:

WARNING: This video contains graphic images such as leopards eating rabbits. 

Proceed at your own risk.

Please leave in the comments below about what you think. I hope you all have a very great day, and see you next time!

~Cheri (WeForWildlife)