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Tai Shan enjoys the outdoors at the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat. (Ann Batdorf/NZP)

From Olmsted Walk, enter the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat next to the outdoor giraffe and elephant habitats. Asia Trail forks here, so you have two options: Start with the upper walkway, which grants sweeping views of the giant pandas' outdoor yards from above and continues all the way to the end of the trail, or take the lower loop, which allows for more intimate visits with the giant pandas.

We begin with the lower loop, which descends gently to bring you to the two original giant panda yards. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have used these yards since their debut at the National Zoo in 2001, and Tai Shan first encountered the outdoors and learned to climb trees here. If he's outside, you can stop to watch him playing with his ball or pestering Mei Xiang to wrestle with him before you continue.

As you reach the end of the original yards, you will come to a small crossroads. A short pathway on your right, lined with glass walls, takes you between an original yard and a new one. If you're lucky, you could find yourself face to face with a giant panda on the other side of the glass! The pathway to your left leads to the Clint Fields Conservation Plaza. Named for a former Executive Director of FONZ, the plaza tells the stories of National Zoo scientists, Chinese villagers, and park rangers who are working to save giant pandas and other Asian wildlife.

Inside the conservation plaza, a large-scale topographic map of the mountains of central China gives you the lay of the land of giant pandas and lights up to show where conservation is taking place. Also in the plaza, interactive touch-screen kiosks called Decision Stations show videotaped interviews with real people in China, then ask you to resolve challenging conservation issues. Other exhibits highlight alternative economic activities such as ecotourism, beekeeping, and mushroom farming that Chinese villagers are using to make a living instead of logging or foraging in protected reserves. And inspiring quotes and anecdotes from National Zoo scientists working in Asia are on display, alongside real tools they have used on their research expeditions.

When you've finished exploring the conservation plaza, reenter the lower loop and continue to the first of the new outdoor yards. Designed to satisfy the pandas' every need and whim, the new yards contain amenities such as water-cooled grottos and fog systems based on studies of the giant pandas' preferences. The new yards also mimic features of giant pandas' native habitat in the misty mountains of China, including waterfalls and rocky outcrops. With their naturalistic design, abundant room to play and relax, and tailor-made extras, these yards encourage the pandas to feel at home and act naturally. And because nothing more than a few inches of glass separates you from the pandas, you'll get a front-row view of their antics.

Tian Tian cools off on a hot day. (Ann Batdorf/NZP)

At the first new outdoor yard, stop to investigate the Giant Panda Experience Zone. Here, you'll learn what it feels like to live in the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat by trying out some of the same amenities the pandas enjoy. On steamy days, chill out on a cooled rock or get wet in a fog zone similar to the one the pandas use to beat the heat. If you're feeling shy, nestle into a rocky grotto just like pandas do when they need privacy or shelter from the sun and rain. Then, move on to marvel at the Japanese giant salamanders before exploring the second new outdoor giant panda yard.

Next, the lower loop winds past the red panda habitat and into the indoor portion of the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat. Inside, incredible photographs tell the story of giant pandas at the National Zoo, from the events leading up to the arrival of Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling in 1972 to the 2005 birth of cub Tai Shan. And he's just the beginning of a future bright with possibilities for new generations of giant panda cubs. In preparation for that future, the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat contains a cozy cubbing den for Mei Xiang to give birth and raise her young.

Without the tremendous efforts of Zoo scientists, who study giant pandas behavior and continue to pioneer reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and hormone monitoring, Tai Shan would never have been born. The Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat tells their story too, with fun interactive exhibits such as the Panda Mating Game. Be sure to peek into the research room, where Zoo staff and volunteers watch the giant pandas on video monitors and take detailed notes so that Zoo scientists can learn more about giant panda behavior.

Perhaps no one at the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat knows the intimate details of the Zoo pandas' behaviors better than the people who care for them every day: their keepers. In taped interviews broadcast on video monitors, keepers talk about the rewards and challenges of their jobs. Be sure to check out the bite-covered challenge crate and other objects the keepers use to keep the pandas' minds and bodies active.

Now that you've seen everything the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat has to offer, you're ready to explore the rest of Asia Trail. When you exit the indoor habitat, return to the Asia Trail entrance and follow the upper walkway, which begins with a view of the giant panda yards from above.

Get to Know Giant Pandas

• There are an estimated 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild in isolated populations in central China, and about 190 in zoos around the world. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists them as endangered on its Red List.
• China designated giant pandas as a national treasure in the 1960s and has prohibited the killing of giant pandas for decades. Habitat destruction was the primary reason for the decline, and continues to be a threat.
• The first time a Westerner saw a giant panda alive was in 1916.
• Giant pandas spend up to 16 hours a day munching on bamboo.
• The word "panda" comes from the Nepalese name for the red panda, nigalya ponya, meaning "eater of bamboo." Even though they share the same name, giant pandas are bears, and red pandas are probably most closely related to raccoons, skunks, or weasels.

ZooGoer 35(5) 2006. Copyright 2006 Friends of the National Zoo. All rights reserved.

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