Panda cam return reaches server capacity in just 10 minutes

Photo by Ann Batdorf/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

As Washington springs back to life after the 16 day shutdown, people can finally return to the federally funded tourist destinations that had been shuttered along with the government.

Smithsonian museums are back open for business and national monuments are welcoming visitors — but one of the more exciting returns is the reinstatement of the National Zoo’s Giant Panda Cam, a popular webcam that tracks the activities of the zoo’s giant pandas 24 hours a day.

The webcam, which has developed a cult-like following among animal lovers and zoo enthusiasts, went dark on Oct. 1 due to the shutdown. It is now back up and operating, but it appears the excitement over the return caused the cam to reach capacity — 850 connections at once — within 10 minutes, according to a zoo spokeswoman, causing some viewers to receive an error message.

H/T Sarah Corapi