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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:48 am Post subject: Panda Cub |
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Mei Xiang, the National Zoo's female panda, gave birth Saturday, July 9, to a cub. This the first successful birth for the National Zoo, after years of trying. The Panda House at the National Zoo will be closed for at least 3 months to avoid disturbing Mei Xiang and her cub, but the public will be able to see them via the Zoo's round-the-clock web cam.
Mei Xiang's History:
:arrow: 2000: Mei Xiang, age 2, and another panda, Tian Tian, age 3, arrive on loan for 10 years from China for a fee of $10 million. The fee is paid by donors.
:arrow: 2003: Mei Xiang and Tian Tian mated, but no pregnancy developed.
:arrow: 2004: Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated, but no pregnancy developed.
:arrow: March 11, 2005: Mei Xiang was successfully artificially inseminated.
:arrow: July 9, 2005: At 3:41 p.m., Mei Xiang gives birth to a panda cub weighing only a few ounces. |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:52 am Post subject: |
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Here's the website.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/ |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:57 am Post subject: |
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Photo of Mei Xiang and cub. Source Reuters. |
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bmason
Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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| I like pandas. :) |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:59 am Post subject: |
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The panda cub, a male, continues to do well. You can vote on the zoo's website on a name for the cub. The choices are as follows:
:arrow: Hua Sheng (hwah-SHUNG), means China Washington, magnificent
:arrow: Sheng Hua (SHUNG-hwah), means Washington China, magnificent
:arrow: Tai Shan (tie-SHON), means peaceful mountain
:arrow: Long Shan (lohng-SHON), means dragon mountain
:arrow: Qiang Qiang (chee-ONG chee-ONG), means strong, powerful
I voted for Quian Qiang. :D |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| Monday morning, National Zoo Director John Berry announced the name of the giant panda cub. The male cub was named Tai Shan (tie SHON), which means "peaceful mountain" in Chinese. Congratulations to Tai Shan, now 100 days old, on his most fitting name! |
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Jonathan
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 208
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:38 am Post subject: |
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| Here's to that! **insert missing "cheers" emoticon here** |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| The baby panda, and mom too, are doing very well. It's very entertaing watching them on the webcam. |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Tai Shan is 6 months old! Congratulations! :D |
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Jonathan
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 208
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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Purr wrote: Tai Shan is 6 months old! Congratulations! :D
Ditto!! :D |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Tai Shan is now 8 months old and weighs 38 pounds! :) |
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Jonathan
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 208
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:25 am Post subject: |
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| Do you know what typical Panda weights are as they age, i.e. at 1 yar, at 2 years, etc.? |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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Adults pandas get really, really big. I checked the National Zoo's website for information about Tai Shan's parents. Tian Tian, Tai Shan's father, weighs in at about 275 pounds. Mei Xiang, Tai Shan's mother, weighs in at about 235 pounds. Considering a baby panda is only a few ounces when it's born, that's a huge weigh gain over an adult life.
Tai Shan is only 38 pounds, so he's got a long way to go to catch up with his daddy! But somehow I think he'll manage. :wink: :D |
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Jonathan
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 208
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Interesting. Do you know at what age they typically reach their full adult weight? |
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Purr
Joined: 25 Jun 2004
Posts: 553
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| Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Interesting question. Panda cubs do not reach breeding maturity until between four and eight years of age. So probably by then would a panda reach their full adult size. |
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