Animal Planet Double Feature DVD Follows A Panda Through The First Year

As adorable as baby pandas are, “A Panda Is Born” didn’t hold the interest of my 11 year old for the 84 minutes it ran. The younger kids loved it though. The DVD follows 2 mating seasons at the Smithsonian National Zoo, which finally results in the birth of a live panda cub, named Tai Shan, which means Peaceful Mountain in Chinese.

Tai Shan is only the third panda cub to survive in the United States and the first at the Zoo. Tai Shan is quite the media darling and these videos document all of his exploits. Born about the size of a stick of butter, Tai Shan quickly grows into a cub which the second DVD, “Baby Panda’s First Year” follows.

We watch as Tai Shan climbs trees (with no idea of how to get back down), eats bamboo and takes his first dip in the panda pool. His mother is a bit of a worry wart as she herds over her new son and it is touching to watch her as her maternal instincts kick in for the first time.

As a side note, according to an agreement with China, any panda born at the Zoo was to be returned to China by their second birthday. However, Tai Shan is such a popular attraction at the Smithsonian National Zoo, the Chinese government has agreed to let Tai Shan stay in the U.S. until July, 2009.

Written by Perri, a homeschooling mom of 6 kids - 2 that are grown and out of the house and 4 younger ones who help wreck and clean the house. Perri also has two precious grandchildren. She spends a lot of time doing ministries with her church, volunteering in the community and baking a mean cheesecake. She blogs about her family’s life at My Life in Bits & Pieces.