For the first time since his birth five months ago at the National Zoo, baby panda Tai Shan made his public debut Thursday.
Timed tickets were required for entry into the Fujifilm Panda House where Tai Shan with his mother Mei Xiang and father. According to Mark Olear, director of Friends of the National Zoo, 10,000 tickets were distributed for special preview days Nov. 7 through Dec. 8 and were given only to zoo donors.
After the initial 10,000 tickets, 13,000 free tickets were then put online for the general public for viewing from Dec. 8 to Jan. 2.
The zoo has enjoyed the response to ticket requests, Olear said.
"Its wonderful, we've been thrilled with the public response," he said. The main reason for offering tickets is to "educate and inspire the public," he said.
Tickets allow people into the panda house for a 10-minute period. However, there is no guarantee to see Tai Shan because he sometimes stays out of the exhibit.
Terri Bouling, a tourist visiting from Idaho, was able to get same-day tickets is called 'panda' by her husband. She said her two main reasons for coming to Washington were to see the panda and her lawyer.
"I would've gone out [of the zoo] crying straight back to the hotel," she said, explaining what she would have done if she could not get tickets.
The first people to see the panda on Thursday were four children who won a "Pennies for Panda contest." According to a press release, children from around the country raised $16,000 for panda conservation in this contest.
Jonathon Gordon, of Orlando, won the 11- to 14-year-old division creativity section for making and selling felt panda pillows. He raised $240.
"It felt good to help the endangered species," he said.
"It's fantastic that he [Tai Shan] can be an ambassador for conservation," said Reese Ruffi, director of guest relations for the National Zoo. "It's pandemonium."
Stanley Freimuth, chief operating officer of Fujifilm, a sponsor of the panda exhibit, said panda conservation is a critical matter and Fujifilm's resources can help make a difference. He also said he hopes Fujifilm's donation to the zoo makes people realize that "green is more than the color of corporate culture."
Tourists traveled thousands of miles just to be at the National Zoo on Thursday. Elsbeth Grindley traveled from Scotland to see Tai Shan. Grindley got tickets for the panda last week and booked her trip last Friday to come to the District.
Tai Shan's mother, Mei Xiang, took care of the cub and did not leave its side for 5 days after birth, not even to get a drink, according to Laura Gilliam, a panda expert at the zoo.
"She's been an incredible mom, just incredible," she said.
At age two, under the lease agreement with China, Tai Shan will be sent back to the Wonlong Reserve in China, as will his parents after a ten-year stay in the U.S.
Even though all the reserved tickets are taken, same-day tickets are available at the zoo on a first-come, first-serve basis each morning.
