Butterstick

We took Alex to meet a Washington celebrity this afternoon - at the National Zoo. Tai Shan (nickname 'Butterstick') is America's most famous giant panda, the zoo's biggest attraction and a global Youtube superstar:

Tai Shan was born at the National Zoo to great excitement in July 2005. He was nicknamed 'Butterstick' by bloggers after one of the zoo staff described him as being the size of a stick of butter (one buys butter in sticks, not packets, in the US) and has drawn huge crowds ever since his public debut in December 2005. But the little panda is flying the zoological nest in the next few weeks to go and live in China, much to the sadness of the 'heartbroken' and 'devastated' Washington public, so we thought we should introduce him to Alex whilst he is still in town. Both Butterstick and Alex slept throughout their encounter, but we do have photographic evidence that Alex met the zoo's most famous resident, and his mother, Mei Xiang, who was equally enthralled by our presence.

 

Pondering on Tai Shan's size and nickname, I couldn't help thinking that female pandas have it rather easy in the labour and delivery department. Mei Xiang weighs 230 pounds and her baby was the size of a stick of butter. I weigh 160 pounds and my baby was considerably larger.

And, sure enough, this video of Tai Shan being born confirms that giving birth must be an absolute breeze if you are a giant panda. His mother looks as surprised at his sudden arrival as she did when he sneezed. Hilarious!