AT THE ZOO Seated upright in typical panda style Tohui quietly munched a stalk of bamboo From the step of the jungle gym above her seven-month-old youngster Xin Xin nudged Tohui as if to say Stop eating and come play with me It was a warm sunny day perfect for climbing and tumbling in the grass Like other giant pandas both Tohui and Xin Xin have round bodies bright eyes and thick long fur making them look as much like large stuffed toys as living animals Their cuddly appearance and gentle personalities make pandas one of the best-loved of all animals They are also one of the rarest Without special care to protect the giant pandas and the places where they live these gentle creatures may soon become extinct
Tohui and Xin Xin live at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City along with four other giant pandas Although far from their native home in China the giant pandas seem happy in Mexico Comfortable enclosures plenty of food and water and good care from the zoo staff provide the pandas with everything they need The zoo where the pandas live is located in chapultepec chapultepec Park a large wooded area in the middle of Mexico City The word chapultepec means grasshopper grasshopper hill and like many words in Mexico comes from Nahuatl the ancient language of the Aztecs who once lived there Tohui’s name means boy and is from the Tarahumaras Tarahumaras language which is spoken in parts of northern Mexico today She was given this name shortly after she was born and kept it even after the zoo staff discovered discovered that she was female All the other pandas there have been given Chinese names Grasshopper statue in Chapultepec Park Mexico City
