Tai Shan's Fans Flock to His Party, But for Him, It's All About the Gifts

Photos
Tai Shan Turns One
No doubt about it: Tai Shan is one of the most watched celebrities in Washington. As he turns 1 year old, zoo officials lead the public in toasting Tai Shan with a four-hour birthday celebration.

The birthday boy did not seem too impressed by all the attention, but by now, Tai Shan is used to the cameras, the faces, the "oohs" and "ahs." At his first birthday party yesterday, the celebrity panda cub was more interested in his presents -- a pool filled with ice water and a fruitsicle shaped like a giant cake -- than in the thousands of people who came to tell him how cute he is and how much he means to the National Zoo.

"He's a rock star," Chevy Chase lawyer Roger Goldman said after the cub's big photo op, when he wrestled his mother for part of the giant frozen treat. "He's like Mick Jagger or somebody."

It was a day of cute -- but who thought it wouldn't be? Brownie Troop 3907 from Gaithersburg sang "Happy Birthday" twice. A FedEx van pulled up with "a special delivery" -- a birthday cake for the human guests. Heads young and old sported pointy green Tai Shan party hats, and many a hand clutched a stuffed version of you-know-who, available for $13.99 (small) or $19.99 (large) in one of the souvenir huts.

As early as 7 a.m., fans began amassing outside the zoo for the 10 a.m. opening of the panda habitat. Juli Brown, 31, traveled farther than most, flying from her home in Greeneville, Tenn., on Saturday "just to see the baby" she's been watching on the zoo's webcam, which has had 21 million hits since Tai Shan's birth. She has seen him scramble up trees, munch on bamboo, play in snow for the first time and grow -- and grow.

From the moment he was born, Tai Shan has commanded the spotlight. Giant pandas, which are endangered, are difficult to breed, and the zoo's three decades of struggling to produce a healthy cub had resulted in many disappointments. A previous pair of adult pandas had produced five cubs during the 1980s, but none lived more than a few days. When Tai Shan was born July 9, 2005, weighing four ounces, he was initially dubbed "Butterstick," because he was about the size of a stick of butter. Things have changed.

"Now, he's Butterball," Mary Schultz of Dallastown, Pa., said of the roly-poly cub who now weighs a robust 56 pounds.

Undoubtedly there are a few people out there who might be a little tired of the ongoing chronicles of Tai Shan, who believe the cub's adorability factor has been milked. But the Schultzes and others at yesterday's event are not those people. Danny Schultz was so inspired by repeated visits and much reading about pandas that he signed up as a zoo volunteer a while back. Now, he drives the four-hour round-trip each Thursday to enlighten others about Tai Shan's activities, likes and dislikes.

"I can't believe he's a year old," Schultz said, echoing the thoughts of many at the party. "It's gone by so fast."

For his birthday appearance, Tai Shan performed like the little star he is, emerging with his mother, Mei Xiang, and ignoring all the staring people. With Mom, he meandered down the path toward his new play pool, ball and his first fruitsicle -- a frozen treat made of bamboo leaves, carrots, pears, beets and apples.

"Come on, Tai," zoo director John Berry cooed softly from the viewing area as the cub moved toward the small, bright-blue pool. "He has delivered every step of the way since he was born," Berry said.

And he delivered again yesterday, delighting fans by dipping a paw into the pool, then turning toward the fruitsicle, as if noticing it for the first time. For a moment, he seemed torn, looking back and forth from the pool to the treat. The treat eventually won, and Tai Shan embraced it in a big panda hug that sent camera crews scurrying to catch the perfect party shot.

There was one small cloud during an otherwise happy day. Tai Shan, like his parents, is on loan to the zoo from China, and plans are to send him there shortly after he turns 2. Yesterday, nobody wanted to think about that -- or about how fast a year can go by.

"I like that panda," said Joshua Perez, 9, of Woodbridge, who is "really into animals" and has visited Tai Shan several times. "I want to be either an actor or a zookeeper."

He and his mother, Joanna, have talked about the cub's eventual departure. "I guess it's fair," she said, "but it's sad to think about. We don't want him to go."