Panda

Because Freya had done so well at school with her awesome report an parents night I thought she deserved a treat. She's mad about pandas so there was only one place to go but I had mixed feelings about it as I have never taken the children to the zoo, and I haven't been in on since I went with my aunt and uncle and wandered off with one of my young cousins who was only 2 or 3 at the time.

I have to admit to a surge of nostalgic excitement as we turned into the zoo entrance and I was generally impressed by the quality of the enclosures, but my fundamental problem with zoos still stands - they are enclosures. Although I admire the conservation work which goes on I can't really look at a sea eagle in an enclosure and not think how sad it is that he will never get to soar over the coast and fly out to sea, or whatever it is sea eagles like to do.

I always find the chimpanzees most difficult to cope with as they are after all 98% human, they looked happy enough in their outdoor space but when indoors I had been watching one feed and the way he hid his face whilst urinating could only suggest to me that he wished he did not have an audience for every move. Of course that is only my imagination but the look in their eyes just makes you wonder, they are so intelligent, they must have thoughts, and quite possibly emotions, so although they are well cared for, I'm not sure if it's right.

Having said all that the children loved it, especially when they saw the giant pandas. Tian Tian was very obliging and was most active indoors and out, she is approaching her breeding season any time now, it only last for 3 days and there is just a 16 hour optimum window for breeding to occur. You can see the grate which separates her enclosure from that of the male, they have sussed each other out here, and have even got a tad territorial to the extent they had to reinforce the grill. The y have to get the timing spot on as if they introduce the male too soon he may kill her. It's staggering to think that more people visit the pandas each day than there are giant pandas left in the world, so I do appreciate that perpetuation of the species to avoid extinction is something that people want to do, but if they all end up in zoos is that not against natural selection?

It's a subject on which there are definitely more questions than answers but I am glad that we went because now the children have the capacity to weigh up the issues for themselves and make their own decisions about these things as they mature, rather than just following my instincts.