Toby the Red Panda
Posts Tagged ‘Red Panda’
Aug
06
Everyone’s a Winner!
Maya Ford and the Houston Zoo at the Texans Training Camp
As a proud volunteer for the Houston Zoo, I’m always delighted to see how many places the Zoo has a presence, by virtue of it’s participation in so many of the events and activities that go on in our community.
Take this week for example. Football is such a huge part of life here, and every year the public is invited to watch the Texans training camp in early August next to Reliant Stadium. I was there Sunday morning, and the stands were packed with adults and children alike.
Behind the bleachers there was an upbeat atmosphere, with music playing, concession stands and booths giving things away. I went back to get some water and lo and behold, I saw the familiar green logo on a table front and center!
I walked up and met members of the marketing department seen here: Maya Ford and Nolan Vander Haagen. They were doing a drawing for a free membership to the zoo… and had a give away wheel where lucky spinners could win prizes like a green conservation bracelet or a free ride on our beautiful carousel.
Houston Zoo give away wheel where lucky spinners could win prizes.
And everyone who spun the wheel got a tattoo of Toby, our new red panda (the Cutest Animal in the World!!) as well as a shiny Tiger paw print stamped on their hand in gold.
The Texans Training Camp continues through this week so if you’re going to be there, stop by, enter the Membership Giveaway and give the Houston Zoo wheel a spin!
Written by Houston Zoo Docent, Rochelle Joseph, HouZooRochelle@gmail.com
Photos by Rochelle Joseph, www.naturegirrrl.blogspot.com
Jul
20
What Came First, the Giant or the Red?
It’s a raccoon! It’s a cat! It’s…Toby! The adorable…panda? Well of course Toby is a panda, a red panda to be exact. And even though he doesn’t exactly look like the stereotypical, black and white idea of what we think a panda bear should look like (those ones are giant pandas), Toby can claim to have held the highly coveted title of panda first, at least as Westerners know it.
Cutest Animal in the World
Although the very first manuscript record of a red panda sighting was discovered within an ancient Chinese scroll dating back to the 1200s, the first time Europeans heard of the animal was in 1821. Thomas Hardwicke was the first to make mention of the red panda in the West, calling it first a “Wah,” because of the noises it makes, and then a “poonya,” a name he had brought back from Asia.
From there, “poonya” became known as “panda” as it evolved into the English language, and the rest is history. But perhaps the most significant detail of this history of the panda namesake is that it wasn’t until 1869 that any mention of the giant panda made its way to European consciousness. Therefore, the very first image that comes to most of our minds when someone says “panda”…is actually out of order in the grand scheme of things.
Toby
But hey, that’s okay – Toby’s a good sport about it. He just spends his days hanging around his enclosure in the Natural Encounters building, munching bamboo and fruit, watching all the people that have come to watch him. Yup, climbing trees and napping in a soft, bushy, blanket-like tail sure is the life. After all, Toby does hold one title that the giant panda hasn’t yet touched…he is officially the Cutest Animal in the World!