Friday, February 17, 2006

Ever Have That Not-So-Fresh Feeling?

Yesterday a friend and I visited the San Diego Zoo. It's a great place to take a walk and get very, very lost. Of course, we had to stop by the panda enclosure to see the adorable panda cub, Su Lin.

Sure, she was cute but pandas do not have the best personal hygiene.

You wanna cuddle that bear? Wear a gas mask, or even better, a hazmat suit. Not that we had the opportunity to get that close, but we did go through the interactive educational area adjacent to the bear lair and learned a whole lotta panda trivia. Like they can make a screeching sound reminiscent of a pissed off crow, and they poop up to 40 times a day.

And they don’t smell so good.

Yep, you can even have your own pungent panda olfactory experience. The interactive area offers a sort of scratch-n-sniff place where you can stick your nose into a hole and imagine what it would be like to nuzzle one of those cuddly creatures. And you won’t be reminded of freshly cut bamboo on a rainy morning. I didn’t actually savor the aroma myself, but my pal did and made a face that told the whole story.

Memo to zoo personnel: TMI.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Really now. I ask you: Who wants to smell freshly cut wet bamboo when you can get a big ol' whiff of rancid butter?? MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

And your problem with rancid butter is....?