Just in time for a winter wandering, the Asia Trail at the National Zoo is now open. Feel free to gawk at the seven Asian species shivering in the cold:
- sloth bears
- fishing cats
- red pandas
- a Japanese giant salamander
- clouded leopards
- Asian small-clawed otters
- and giant pandas
No word yet on if the otters get to play with the salamander – I think that would be a short, but tasty play time.
The red panda wasn’t playing so much as pacing when this crowd checked him out last weekend. He looked like a mental ward patient, walking back and forth on a little raised ledge until he spotted a grapefruit. Then he was all about eating the fleshly fruit, a welcomed break to his confinement.
As you can tell, I worry about the larger animals in the zoo. Often they look more insane prisoners than happy-go-lucky exotic species. Yes, they live a long and pampered life, but would you want to live in a zoo?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
