Panda Po, Photo Courtesy of Zoo Atlanta
If you are looking for things to do in Atlanta, don’t miss one of our guests favorite Atlanta attractions, Zoo Atlanta. Zoo Atlanta was established in 1889 in Grant Park. It consists of 39 spacious acres in a naturalistic setting with plenty of trees, shrubs and water features. The animals run free in their natural habitats.
One of Zoo Atlanta’s newest residents is Panda Po. He was the only Giant Panda born in the United States last November. Po is beginning to make morning appearances with his mother Lun Lun, between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at the Arthur Blank Family Foundation Giant Panda Conservation Center. If you love pandas and can not make it to the Atlanta Zoo, you can catch him on the Zoo Atlanta PandaCam. Zoo Atlanta is one of only four zoos in the United States with Giant Pandas. They contribute 1.1 million per year to China’s Giant Panda Conservation.
This year has been declared the” Year of the Turtle”. There are over 8,200 species of turtles in the world, on every continent except Antarctica. Presently there are 25 turtle species in danger with an extremely high rate for extension. Zoo Atlanta houses three of these species, the McCord box turtle, Burmese star Tortoise and Sulawesi forest turtle. In addition, another six species housed at the Atlanta Zoo are on the very likely extension list. It is surprising to learn that one of our own Georgia species is on the list. Bog turtles are most threatened by the loss of their habitat. Their world-wide cousins are endangered from extreme over-harvesting for food. Let’s learn what we can do to help preserve turtles in our own backyard and world-wide.
After spending the morning at the zoo, it is time to head over to the westside of Grant Park and see the Atlanta Cyclorama, the worlds largest oil painting. It was painted in 1885-1886 by German artists and deplicts the Battle of Atlanta. It has been a fixture in Grant Park since 1893. Then it is back to our bed and breakfast in Atlanta to relax and enjoy our new gardens.
Tags: Atlanta attractions, Atlanta Cyclorama, bed and breakfast in Atlanta, Panda Po, PandaCam, things to do in Atlanta, Zoo Atlanta
