Meet 14 year old Gugu – since three human years equals one panda year, when we met a week or so ago at the Beijing Zoo, we were the same age.  One of the graces of human aging is that next year I will be only 43 whereas Gugu here will be 45.  Bad luck Gugu!  This is not a point I would have pressed with Gugu except from outside the panda pen.  Gugu seemed affable and gentle when I fed her a mixture of carrots and apple, but at the same time she is a bear and so an unbelievably strong and powerful wild animal.  Most recently, I have fed horses and so I was taken aback when Gugu reached for the carrot with her paw to insert it into her mouth.  Playing in the background was her three year old cub.  After a while, nerves quieted, I reached out and stroked Gugu’s paw.  What a moment – words don’t do justice to the thrill.

Beijing Zoo harks to the European conception of previous centuries whereby exotic animals from distant lands are housed in small cages.  Many modern zoos, for example those in Singapore or San Diego, and indeed the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, have furthered this concept usually for scientific purposes and in the process have developed more natural and larger environments to accommodate their animals.  That said, within the old-fashioned Beijing Zoo, thanks to its unique status, the panda enclosure is the most elaborate.  Visitors who are not able to make the trip to Chengdu can get special access to the pandas here and feed an adult panda, like Gugu, round the back of the enclosure.  This lasts fifteen minutes with children over the age of 6 able to hand food to the pandas themselves. This is such a unique and special experience that we make it available to clients, but conditional on the understanding of its full circumstances, namely that the back of the panda enclosure is a narrow and gloomy caged environment. It was not built for public access and so a visit here may be affected by these circumstances.  Please note we are not at all implying the pandas are not well looked after – our impression is that they are well cared for, but we do wish to be candid about all aspects of the experience so as to avoid any disappointment.