At the opening session we were surprised and delighted by an unexpected visitor. The goodwill ambassador for the world-famous zoo also brought an Andean condor to welcome us. The program planners had left the afternoon free for those who wished to visit the highly rated zoo. It covers 100 acres and is home to 4,000 rare and endangered animals.
Every visitor is presented with a large colorful map at the admission booth.
I wandered around enjoying the wildlife and all the exotic plantings, because this is also an official botanical garden with more than 6,500 plants. Even with the map I found it hard to get my bearings, so it wasn't by design but luck that I found myself at the giant panda research area. A large sign cautioned visitors to move quietly through the exhibit so as not to disturb the adult pair in residence. She moved about lazily, climbed one of the trees and came back down. Her mate, Shi Shi, was nowhere to be seen.