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Thursday, October 12, 2006
Panda opens eyes; won’t see name for 8 weeks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now she’s staring back at you.
During a physical exam of Zoo Atlanta’s Giant Panda cub Thursday morning, zoo officials discovered that the 36-day-old baby’s eyes were open for the first time.
“She’s probably able to see now,” said Dr. Maria Crane, the zoo veterinarian. “We noticed she’s paying more attention to her environment.”
After being ogled by her keepers at the zoo and millions of viewers online, the cub’s own visual awareness is rapidly developing. Although Crane said it’s “hard to know” how much Lun Lun’s cub is actually seeing, the female newborn appeared slightly startled at one point during her checkup when she noticed some zoo staff intently watching her.
Since her previous checkup last week, the cub, whose name won’t be chosen for another two months, has grown to a little more than 16 inches in length, from nose to tip of tail. She has added almost a pound of weight, going from 2.9 pounds to 3.8 pounds.
“She’s a very solid cub,” Crane said following the seven-minute exam that started at 8:20 a.m.
“Her growth is nice and steady, and that’s really a testament to how well Lun Lun is taking care of her.”
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