Good morning, Washington. Flickr user zenfrisbee went down to the West Lawn yesterday to catch the festivities surrounding the Dalai Lama’s visit and acceptance of a Congressional Gold Medal. China, naturally, had “solemnly demanded” the cancellation of the event, which saw President Bush appear with the Dalai Lama in public — something no sitting U.S. president has done before. Bush dismissed China’s concerns over the event, saying he didn’t think it would severely damage relations…

Pandas come in more flavors than just butter. Flickr user billadler took this great shot of one of the red pandas at the National Zoo’s Asia Trail, which provides some real close up views of the animals. Have you stopped by the new exhibit to see them yourself? EXIF….

If you’re a child of the District, it’s a distinct possibility that dozens of trips to the National Zoo over the years formed very strong memories for you. There’s the good old reptile house; the good old elephant house; and of course the good old pandas. Even a dozen or so years after my childhood, return trips offered up the same sort of feeling: not much is ever different at the zoo. Which is…

Good morning, Washington, and our apologies to the residents of Montgomery County — we hate to be the bearers of bad news. But it looks like speed cameras will be coming to your fair municipality. The general assembly has overridden Governor Ehrlich’s second veto, putting the wheels in motion for a statewide program. Montgomery County will be the lucky recipient of the first pilot cameras. Gallaudet Still A Mess: Protests; counter-protests; defiant non-resignations. And now…

Because nothing says “fun times” like terrifying giant panda-costumed folks traveling in a motorcade and handing out single-use cameras across the metropolitan area, we just had to alert you folks to the zoo’s newest promotional event. Starting Friday, October 13th, in order to celebrate the grand opening of the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat and Asia Trail, the fine folks at the Zoo and FONZ will be taking the panda show on the road. Apparently, the…

Just like everyone else this, we got so wrapped up in the election-related results this morning that we all but forgot that there’s other, well, news in the news. Sloth Fights for Attention: Zoogoers have been all ga-ga for Butterstick and the yet-to-be-named tiger triplets over the recent year, so much so that most of the zoo’s other animals have just stopped trying. Except Balawat, our local baby sloth bear, writes the Post. Balawat’s…

Earlier this year, Toni, one of the National Zoo’s resident elephants, was euthanized after a two-decade-long struggle with arthritis in her legs. While zoo officials maintained that Toni’s condition was pre-existent, animal rights activists claimed that the tight quarters of the zoo’s Elephant House only worsened her mental and physical health. Though an isolated incident, Toni’s death brought to light an issue that has long afflicted zoos across the country — are certain animals meant…

We told you earlier this month that the National Zoo’s lone camel died. Sure enough, a walk though the zoo this weekend pretty confirmed the camel’s demise, as you can see above. The status of Mr. Camel had been changed to that of a temporarily closed exhibit. We now all know that the creature is dead, but we’re sure the zoo wants to spare the little children the thought of friendly Mr. Camel being…

Any blogger worth their salt should know that the -ist family’s executive editor, Jen Chung, loves pandas. So Jen, here you go. We know you can’t see pandas at the Bronx Zoo (but there are red pandas there — our red pandas here in D.C. died after eating rat poison buried in their enclosure), so here’s the next best thing. We’re sure pandas in their natural habitat don’t have to deal with the construction…