Of course a priority for my visits to Chengdu Panda Base was to see Yuan Meng 圆梦 again! I first saw him back in his birth country of France when I visited ZooParc de Beauval in 2022, and then I was lucky to see him again back in September 2023 here at the Chengdu Panda Base. At that time he had only recently gone on show to the public and was still a little apprehensive about his new surroundings, but I managed to see him and was so pleased. He’s certainly grown in confidence since then! On both mornings Yuan Meng was just about my first stop (after an hour on the first morning to stop to see Hua Hua) – on the first morning it was a bit later and he was right at the back of the yard and heading inside as the temperatures were rising. I got there earlier on the second morning and the timing was perfect as he was just coming outside as I got there. He had some enrichment and worked on getting some apple pieces out, which he spent a long time at, and then he settled down with a pile of bamboo. He was very popular, with many tour groups stopping at him for pictures. After he had finished his bamboo he climbed up onto a platform at the back of the yard for a sleep. A little while later the keeper was trying to call him inside because of the temperature and he was completely ignoring her! So happy to see him again for a third time, and hopefully I will get to see him again next time^