Efforts to save China's endangered giant pandas suffered another setback after the Sichuan earthquake. Less than 1600 pandas are thought to remain in the wild, with 249 pandas in breeding programs around the country. The Wolong Nature Reserve, subject of National Geographic's adorable Panda Nursery documentary and just 19 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, was badly damaged. Five staffers were killed, and several pandas are still missing. Search teams have been sent out to locate the missing pandas, and several injured pandas have been evacuated to the nearby Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding as well as to zoos around the country. Though they now have enough water to give the pandas, local officials have said that they are short on food. "We are in urgent need of bamboos and apples." Pandas International is collecting donations for relief efforts at Wolong.
posted on May 26, 2008 - View this thread

In 1936, the American widow Ruth Harkness became the first person to capture a living panda from the wild.
posted on Oct 8, 2007 - View this thread

Looking for a gift for that hard-to-please environmentalist on your Xmas list? How about poop? Not just any poop, panda poop! Interestingly enough despite the relatively low number of, er, available sources this is not the first time that panda manure is being considered for commercial purposes... not even close.
posted on Jul 30, 2007 - View this thread

After twelve years of not getting laid, Yan Yan the Chinese panda finally kicked the bucket late Monday at the Berlin Zoo. Officials admits she died alone and nobody immediately noticed. Now the media is running with the story that the popularity of Knut the polar bear cub may be the reason behind the death of his neighbor. In other news, the European Union celebrated its 50th birthday in Berlin. Nobody noticed.
posted on Mar 27, 2007 - View this thread

Against Pandas: "Pandas are endangered because they are utterly incompetent... Pandas are badly designed, undersexed, overpaid and overprotected. They went up an evolutionary cul-de-sac and it is too late to reverse."
posted on Jul 2, 2006 - View this thread

Panda, Inc. - National Geographic does pandas, including this surfeit of cuteness clip of Tai Shan and mom playing. Watch for panda mania to break out in the U.S. as we count down to Tai Shan's one year birthday. At 53 pounds, he is coming along nicely - see his progress in his photo album since birth. Meanwhile, in the wild, happy news that the panda population may be double what was previously thought. Yay! (via adorablog's great panda file.)
posted on Jun 24, 2006 - View this thread

Black , the final entry in Adidas' Adicolor short film campaign., is seriously messed up, with a fish and a panda playing russian roulette. Also featuring Pink, Red, Blue, White, and Yellow. (via)
posted on May 12, 2006 - View this thread

I'd like your smallest painting. No, smaller than that. Even smaller. Wait, that's too small.
posted on Mar 23, 2006 - View this thread

Geru Geru Panic (Gel Gel Panic) - the Japanese flash game where you must fend off attacking (wait for it) jellies. Also by the same author: about a billion more flash games featuring Panzo the panda. Note: first link is to a game with background music.
posted on Jan 20, 2006 - View this thread

The Anti-Cute "Oh it is mother fucking on. Round up the troops. Arm yourselves. It's time to show your loyalty to JALG and fight for once in your puny little life goddamnit. Some very popular blogs which shall remain nameless(boingboing and metafilter) have recently posted to some bullshit cute "animal" blog. I'm not going to embarass anybody here by telling you what this bullshit blog is. It's cuteoverload [previously], more like overload of bull." Compare and contrast with the ultimate in cute.
posted on Jan 18, 2006 - View this thread

Blogger claims to hack National Zoo panda name vote. The National Zoo has opened its poll on the name for the new baby panda. Readers of DCist, Wonkette, and other Washington blogs quickly developed the nickname "Butterstick" for the infant panda, based on the oft-quoted description of the panda's birth weight. "Butterstick" was of course not among the name choices on the Zoo's website. So bloggers went ahead and altered the voting form, allowing you to select that name.
posted on Aug 25, 2005 - View this thread

Pandas! "You are watching live images of Mei Xiang, a giant panda, and her newborn cub at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The cub was born at 3:41 a.m. on Saturday, July 9."

Details here. Warning: make sure you have a high tolerance for cuteness.
posted on Aug 21, 2005 - View this thread

So, apparently there is a certain danger that James Bond will be putt-putting around in a 4WD Fiat Panda. What is the world coming to? It hardly fits in with the rest of the James Bond vehicle park. A propos Bond-cars - in 1997, James Bond's original DB5 was stolen and was never recovered. Someone, somewhere, has this piece of motoring history stashed away.
posted on Aug 8, 2005 - View this thread

PandaMania! The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is presenting PandaMania, 150 creatively designed Panda sculptures placed on display throughout Washington DC, May through September 2004. The exhibition will conclude with a public auction with proceeds used for arts grants and arts education programs. Some other public art links (a couple previously mentioned, but worth a second look): LA, the Bronx, Chicago, NY Public Art fund, and Keith Haring, worldwide.
posted on Jun 12, 2004 - View this thread

as if Godzilla wasn't enough, now citizens of Tokyo have to worry about a guy in a panda suit killing people. what's the world coming to? When cosplay goes too far!
posted on May 5, 2001 - View this thread