After spending eight days in quarantine, eight visiting pandas from the Wolong Panda Reserve in Sichuan Province were presented to the public at Beijing Zoo last Saturday, June 7. Though their tenure had been planned for months in advance of the Beijing Olympics—and not, as some believe, because the Sichuan reserve was rendered unfit for the pandas by the recent quake—their arrival could not have been better timed to ride on sympathy for the people, and animals, that suffered from the May 12th natural disaster.

     Eight two-year-old pandas settled into their newly-constructed home. They'll live there not just for three months as originally planned, but for a longer (as yet undetermined) period to allow the quake-damaged Wolong Reserve to be renovated. Wolong is located 30 kilometers from the epicenter of the powerful quake and damage to the facility was extensive; five staffers at the Wolong base died. Two pandas were injured and six initially went missing -- of which four subsequently wandered back to the ruins of their enclosures.

     Huge crowds visited the pandas in Beijing on June 7, opening day. Parents and grandparents with children, in particular, were present enmasse. Compare the pandas’ opening day crowds with the number of visitors just a week earlier at the zoo's front entrance.

Beijing Zoo was the first in the world to display Giant Pandas, beginning in 1955. The Panda Hall consists of both indoor and outdoor areas, with animals displayed in either outdoor or indoor individual cages. During summer and winter, when temperatures become extreme, they’ll all live indoors.

      All the pandas appear to be pre-occupied with eating bamboo—of which Giant Pandas eat 20 to 40 pounds (9 to 18 kg) per day. No wonder they seem busy

Eating more bamboo....

The new panda cage has been in the works since as early as 2005. And of course, the zoo exhibition wouldn't be complete without an array of panda plush toys.

Vendors selling panda-themed items

A tree bound up with notes from well-wishers...