Panda Family Tale Part Three

Travalon continues his story of the red panda family.

In Minneapolis, brothers Randy and Andy Panda were thrilled to see each other and to be living under the same roof with these kind gentle and caring humans. They loved sitting in the back seat together on the ride home, catching up. Now settled in their new home in Madison, WI (often colder than Sikkim in the winter) they would romp in the backyard together and climb the trees every day. Andy followed his brother's lead most of the time, although sometimes on his own he would get into unexplained mischief.

Meanwhile, back in Sikkim the smoke from the last forest fire seeped into the Panda family's den and Mandy and Shandi had to evacuate, at least temporarily. Maybe they would somehow find the others. Within a few hours the WWF rescuers found them. The two female pandas complied with all the procedures and did not put up any kind of fight. Shandi was very frightened, but Mandy her loving mama held her close and assured her everything would be ok. It would be! They were both deemed very adoptable and their DNA's were matched with Randy and Andy's. Upon contact with the center in Wheeling, they were given the go-ahead to be sent to America, and offered to Famous Hat and I for adoption, a chance for most of the family to live together. Of course we immediately agreed! The more pet red pandas, the merrier!! 

They were checked out briefly in Wheeling and then transported directly to the Vilas Zoo in Madison for additional rest and nourishment before being welcomed into our home. Randy and Andy were thrilled to see their mom and little sister as the females were thrilled to see them and that they were alive and well! They all lived happily together under our roof, although our bed was getting a bit crowded as the green Irish bears and Jørgen the Narwhal shared it too. Shandi adored and had developed romantic feelings toward Dieter. She enthusiastically joined him out in the living room for the overnight watch every night. He enjoyed her company, but was much more focused on his job of protecting the condo. He was very loyal to his owners like most German Shepherds. 

Back in Sikkim the question remained: Where was the family's long-lost father Grandy Panda? Now well-rested and healed, he set out to find his way home, hoping the rest of his family would be there. As with the others, the WWF quickly found him. He snarled a bit, but quickly realized he couldn't escape these humans and their plan for him. As his DNA testing began an unexpected wrench was thrown into things. A rescuer from China determined that he looked exactly like a missing red panda from Shanghai Zoo #32. Without properly checking all blood samples, he was fully convinced that Grandy was the Chinese red panda Zhing-Zhing and convinced his associates to send him to Shanghai permanently. Grandy was shocked and saddened but there was nothing he could do. All he think about was the fact that he'd never see his family or the wilds of Sikkim again. He didn't enjoy life in his small glass cage, his restless cage companion Ting-Ting, or being gawked at by children tapping on the glass all day long. 

We made an inquiry about Grandy's possible whereabouts with the center in Wheeling. They contacted the WWF camp in Sikkim and luckily a rescuer from India answered and told them an older male red panda had recently been found and sent to a zoo in China. After being told a description of the DNA of the rest of the family, it was determined that this Panda they just shipped out belonged to that family, now far away in America. 

The Wheeling center inquired with the Shanghai zoo about Grandy. The Chinese officials admitted the Panda in question was indeed one of their residents although not Zhing-Zhing. They would not let Grandy be relocated to America easily though. Red Pandas, although some could be seen in the wilds of Central China, were a most popular animal to be featured. The Chinese, on the counsel of their government, insisted on a small animal exchange with Wheeling, and $10,000 cash for Grandy. Could Wheeling do it?

Conclusion coming soon...

Travalon