Clinically cute toddler takes to the trees

February 17, 2009 – After months of frantic public service announcements warning unwary Atlantans of the positive health benefits of laying eyes on the clinically cute Xi Lan, Zoo Atlanta now wonders if it could have done a better job of spreading the word. How many joyful smiles, how much spontaneous laughter and how many priceless photo opportunities could have been prevented, had the Zoo started this important campaign even seconds earlier?

Not many, apparently. Thousands of Atlantans, Georgians and out-of-towners continue to fly in the face of the Zoo’s cautionary messages by deliberately visiting this dangerously adorable day-maker. And the news gets worse: Xi Lan recently learned to climb. What does this mean, Atlanta? The conquering warm-and-fuzzy isn’t just on a ground offensive anymore: he now has a bird’s eye, treetop view. What’s worse, he plays with his mother. He plays with toys. He plays with his water-drinker. More devastating yet, he interacts with his admirers through the glass at the Arthur M. Blank Conservation Center! Worst of all, this lovably furry giant panda Medusa turns those who see him not into stone, but into lifelong friends … and he now does it full-time.

Oh, the precious sight! Oh, the emotional boost! Oh, the humanity.

Zoo Atlanta has done all it can. (Read more below for proof of these repeated efforts.) Now, we can only sit back and hope that there are still those among us who do not want to smile, do not want to laugh, will not fall subject to the joy that is Xi Lan … and encourage them to take the risk.

Xi Lan and Lun Lun can now be seen in their dayroom all day long! Meet Atlanta’s Joy today and don’t forget big sister Mei Lan and dad Yang Yang. The entire giant panda family can be seen daily.

Signs of Xi Lan
Lun Lun’s shadow, not the groundhogs’, foretells fun 

February 3, 2009 - On February 2, Pennsylvania’s Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. His counterpart in Georgia, General Beauregard Lee, saw no shadow, predicting a speedy spring. Yawn. Groundhogs, scurry on back to your holes. While you were disagreeing over the forecast, Zoo Atlanta Members and guests saw the little guy that has lately become Lun Lun’s shadow, and the reign of Xi Lan is officially at hand.

Zoo Atlanta has been warning Atlantans for months about the coming of the heartbreaker, the scene stealer and the aww grabber. In August, the Zoo announced his birth. (Hairless, helpless, and weighing just a matter of ounces, he posed little threat.) In October, the Zoo communicated that he was clinically cute, potentially capable of causing public adoration. (Even then, he was barely opening his black-patched eyes.) The Zoo cautioned the city again in December, announcing that the phenomenon had a name: Xi Lan. (Dangerous even then, he had not yet entered the dayroom with Lun Lun.)

The Zoo has tried countless times to notify the city that Xi Lan’s time was coming. Yellow alerts progressed to orange alerts, and now, there is a bright red one, perhaps too late. The conqueror is out, he is about, and the Surgeon General couldn’t put it any plainer. Beware, Atlanta. Visiting Xi Lan is highly beneficial to your emotional health.

Five months old on January 30, the adventurous toddler has entered what is arguably the most unforgettably adorable period in a giant panda cub’s life. Now trying his clumsy paws at climbing, chewing playfully on his mother, and turning everything from her bamboo to their water bowl into a fascinating exploit, Xi Lan is, for the first time, a regular sight at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Giant Panda Conservation Center. Now that the mother-son duo have completed their test run of their dayroom, Zoo staff have begun gradually increasing their time in the habitat to the point that Lun Lun and Xi Lan are now reliably on exhibit several hours a day.

Forewarned is forearmed, Georgia. Xi Lan will bring a smile to your face, regardless of what the rest of the world’s news tries to do. Give up now. Just don’t blame the Zoo for your new compulsion.

Cub Xi Lan and mom Lun Lun can be seen daily!
January 2009 – Zoo Atlanta’s panda cub Xi Lan is learning the ropes of walking and exploring, and Xi Lan and mom Lun Lun are making morning appearances! The cub and mom usually come out at approximately 10 a.m. and stay out for a few hours. Panda fans are encouraged to come to Zoo Atlanta and visit Xi Lan as he learns something new every day. Not to mention that dad Yang Yang and big sister Mei Lan are always on exhibit!

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