Fab Apps for Parents: Panda Zoo

Has anyone else noticed that the Panda Channel disappeared off of Now TV?   A less than stellar day at the office could be instantly cured with a glass of wine and a few minutes of watching the Ocean Park pandas loaf about, tumble off a jungle gym – or even just nibble on a leaf.  I even liked the zen background music.

While it’s by no means a substitute, the latest iPhone/iPad app that I’ve been playing around with does fill the Panda Channel void a bit…and downloading it helps animal conservation.

Pocket Zoo is an interactive zoo map with animal pictures, stats, sounds – and live cameras from zoos around the world.  The zoological ‘trinity’ of lions, tigers, and bears are of course there – but some more obscure animals are also offered, including the manatee and the killer whale.

And the live camera feeds come from zoos all over the world – from San Diego, California, and Toledo, Ohio, in the US, to Zoo Sauvage in Canada and Matsushima Aquarium in Japan. Plus, 1% of sales goes to 1% for the Planet, a growing movement of companies worldwide who donate 1% of sales to environmental organizations.