VIDEO: Watch Bao Bao Check Out Her New Digs!

PHOTO of Bao Bao by Connor Mallon

__________

Just like a college student leaving home for college and starting a new life in her own dorm room, America’s favorite Giant Panda cub is exploring her own new digs and life without Mom.

The National Zoo’s Giant Panda cub Bao Bao has had just over a month to explore “her” yard, and she is already picking out some favorite spots, according to a news release from the zoo. She often eats next to the glass on the lower viewing level, according to her keepers. That spot is a favorite for keepers too, since it is just below the bamboo shed. Here’s more about her new digs, from the zoo:

It’s a convenient place to feed her without calling her out of the yard—bamboo simply drops down from overhead. She also likes to rest and play in a maple tree towards the middle of her yard. Even more exciting, her waterfall and pool just got filled for the season, giving her endless splashing and playing opportunities for the warm days ahead.

Like the zoo’s other panda yards, Yard 3 (which Bao Bao is currently occupies) has other cooling features as well, including misters and a cooled grotto. Since Bao Bao has acclimated to her yard and breeding season is behind them, visitors will again notice that the pandas will be rotating through each of the yards on a more regular basis.

That means Mei Xiang will have a chance to graze on the bamboo shoots sprouting along the fence line in Yard 1 (the yard Tian Tian usually occupies); Tian Tian will be able to splash in the waterfall in Yard 3; and Bao Bao will be able to reunite with her beloved hemlock in Yard 2 (the yard Mei Xiang usually occupies) for a nice nap.