Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan, China (12/23/2011)

And how could I forget to write about one of the major attractions of Chengdu?  The giant panda, related to the ancestor of raccoons and bears, is a bit of an evolutionary anomaly. They are carnivores that spend 16-18 hours a day doing nothing but eating nutrient poor bamboo. They move slowly and awkwardly (as if intoxicated), have difficulty reproducing, and when they do successfully reproduce, have cubs that require months to learn to do even the most basic things (much like human infants). They aren't particularly bright, and when young are quite vulnerable to predation. Yet despite these numerous apparent disadvantages, pandas have been around for 8 million years.  Despite recent population erosion due to habitat loss, the Chinese have taken drastic measures to ensure these extremely cute 'national treasures' continue to survive both in the wild and in captivity.