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Thursday, November 16, 2006
She growls! She stands! She charms!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Panda fans, check this out. In the past week, that little-girl giant panda at Zoo Atlanta has:
• Grown nearly 1.5 inches
• Gained about three-quarters of a pound
• Developed strength in her front legs.
Oh, and this: She’s found her voice.
Snarf! The unnamed youngster barked once, and fixed a beady stare at the women who held a tape across her nose, measuring the child’s length from nose to tail. The panda is now 22.44 inches long. Last week, she measured 21 inches.
Haff! She made a little bear cough as her handlers hefted her on a scales. The numbers glowed red — 3.66 kilos. (For you non-scientists, that’s about 8.1 pounds.) Her weight gain is proof that her mama, Lun Lun, is feeding that child right.
Snarf! The panda stood up on front legs as sturdy as posts. She turned her fuzzy head to the right, to the left. She looked at the ceiling, then at her feet. A tough kid.
Dr. Maria Crane, who has been conducting weekly exams since the panda’s birth Sept. 6 — Thursday’s checkup was the eighth for doctor and patient — is pleased with the panda’s progress. The zoo’s senior veterinarian, Crane makes the regular exams to chart the infant’s progress, watch her vitals and add Zoo Atlanta’s findings to a growing wealth of knowledge about the bears.
She also likes looking at her young charge, who at 71 days old has more hair than a wig shop. “She’s definitely getting stronger,” said Crane.
The panda is still a little shaky on her back legs. Her teeth, too, are still under the gums, but threatening to come out at any moment.
And when those teeth come out? Lun Lun will be nursing her child for another 10 months or so.
If you don’t understand the significance of that, go check with a nursing mom.
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