Kobe Oji Zoo’s Cute Red Panda

With the start of the New Year, I decided to see what was new at Kobe Oji Zoo in Kobe City.

First of all, the Waterfowl exhibit had a new walk-in area for visitors – it was quite an improvement. In the past, visitors had to view the animals through the netting used to keep the captive birds in and the local birds out.  The netting was an obstacle to visibility, and visitors would often walk by without stopping to take a look at the birds.  With the new walk-in terrace, visitors can get a closer, unobstructed view.

View inside the Waterfowl exhibit.

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)

I also visited the Koala House.

Umi, a female Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) born in June 2014 was awake and eating.  And while she doesn’t really qualify as something “new”, the Koalas are usually sleeping when I visit, so I am including a photo.

Next to the Koala House was the enclosure for the Red Pandas (Ailurus fulgens styani), usually referred to as “Lesser Pandas” in Japan.

The young female Tiara, born July 6, 2015, was roaming the exhibit with her mother Minfa.  She was extremely cute and a great crowd pleaser.  I took quite a number of photographs and am including a small album here.

Finally, I also made sure to stop in on an old friend - “Yama”, the female Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica).  Yama was born May 21, 2000 at the Asa Zoo in Hiroshima, and is now 15 years old – which is older than most tigers in the wild manage to survive.  Despite her advanced age, she still has a very regal presence.  Long live the Queen!

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on January 4, 2016.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)