You know each zoo provides different types of 'treats' or enrichment items for their pandas, in addition to their regular diet of bamboo. They vary depending on what part of the world you are in. A few of the different items zoos use are, honey, pieces of fruit, sweet potatoes, leaf eater biscuits, sugar cane and Tai's favorite is his fruitsicle. This is frozen fruit juice and water, sometimes with cut up fruit.
The National Zoo has a nice write up about the use of enrichment items on their website
MyAngel27 of flickr was visiting the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C, when one of the keepers tossed a fruitsicle to Tai. Look over these wonderful photos that MyAngel got of Tai enjoying his treat.
So, the next time you are visiting a giant panda at one of the zoos around the world, look to see what kind of enrichment items the pandas are receiving.
