Our family’s June trip to China and Tibet
was extraordinary even without our stop in Chengdu. The ancient
cities, awesome scenery, spectacular caves, and beautiful people
of Yunnan and Tibet were unforgettable. But our close encounter
with a rare and endangered animal in Chengdu overshadowed all
of these.
We had arranged in advance to stop over in Chengdu for a couple
of days because our good friend Joan Shen and her family were
visiting relatives there. Joan and my wife, Wendy Lee, are on
the board of IACA. Joan’s brother turned out to have connections
at the National Panda Breeding Station in Chengdu and invited
her extended family and ours (about 18 people in all) for a special
VIP tour.
I had no idea that any ‘visitor’ would get close
to, let alone touch a live panda. So when we were ushered into
one of the enclosure buildings everyone started to get excited.
I was stunned to be told that only one person could hold the baby
panda on their lap…and that I was the chosen one. I soon
learned that one reason I was chosen was that a 75 lb baby panda
is very very strong. For some reason he preferred his mom to me
and it is all I could do to keep him on my lap.
All of us had donned special protective clothing….for the
safety of the young panda. Everyone got to touch the adorable
infant with their gloved hands and countless photos were taken
to capture this magic “Kodak” moment. In all it lasted
about 10 minutes and everyone left with a lifetime’s memories
of their experience with one of the most loved and rarest members
of the animal kingdom. I left with one more amusing honor. My
little friend had peed copiously all over my lap….one last
souvenir from a day that I shall always cherish.
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