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December 2006
Gov gets a gander at Mei Lan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On a day of firsts, Atlanta’s favorite baby, Mei Lan, the 113-day old giant panda, was examined by her first governor. And Gov. Sonny Perdue, a large-animal veterinarian by trade, did his first once-over on a giant panda this morning at Zoo Atlanta.
“What impressed me,” said the governor, “was that this magical animal is so tolerant of humans.”
He helped senior zoo vet Maria Crane poke and prod the little panda, who has gained about a pound and an inch since last week’s physical exam and now measures 28.9 inches from nose to tail and weighs in at almost 14 pounds.
Mei Lan underwent the exam with little protest other than strong wriggling and a few whimpers. Crane put her fingers in the baby’s mouth to check on the progress of her teeth, a topic of great interest because no one has yet charted the pattern of tooth eruption in giant pandas. Zoo Atlanta hopes to record that pattern for posterity. Crane said there were no new teeth today, but those already there are growing.
Perdue said after examining the panda he could now “check that off my Sonny Do list.” He complimented Crane’s professionalism, which he chalked up to her education at the University of Georgia’s School of Veterinary Medicine, which is where he got his degree.He said he was surprised that the baby panda’s pulse was a rapid 140 to 150 beats a minute and that “her fur is so thick you can’t even see the skin.”
He said he enjoyed that the examination was so “gentle. As any of you know if you’ve taken a child to the pediatrician, it can be a wrestling match. But she was very tolerant.”
Today’s was the last weekly, public examination. Crane said the panda would begin to walk any day now and would be harder to handle. Her examinations would become less frequent and less regular.
Zoo Atlanta public relations director Susan Elliott said zoo officials are hoping for a public debut for Mei Lan in mid January.
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One giant step for Mei Lan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Slide some all-terrain sneakers in Mei Lan’s stocking. She’s going to need them any day now.
Zoo Atlanta’s baby panda expanded her horizons Thursday morning. Moments after submitting to her weekly exam, the 3 1/2-month-old cub managed to step outside the box where she’s been snoozing the nights away.
It wasn’t the smoothest step ever taken. In crawling over the 2-inch-by-4-inch barrier that forms her sleeping place, Mei Lan was as graceful as a rockslide.
But shaky steps soon became smooth, strong ones. Zoo officials are confident the cub, named in a ceremony last week, soon will be toddling after her mom, Lun Lun. She just needs to gain more strength in her rear legs, they say.
“Once she gets her legs underneath her, she’s going to be a lot of fun to watch,” said Dr. Maria Crane, the zoo’s senior veterinarian. Crane conducted the 12-minute weekly exam, the cub’s 13th since her Sept. 6 birth.
Mei Lan, as usual, wriggled in her examiners’ arms while Crane struggled to get measurements with a cloth measuring tape. Crane looked like a patient tailor, trying to outfit a reluctant 3-year-old.
Here’s the tale of tape and scale:
• Mei Lan is 27.5 inches long. True to form, the cub has grown an inch in the past week.
• The cub hasn’t missed many meals. She’s nearly 21 inches around.
• Mei Lan weighs 13 pounds — a 1-pound gain in seven days.
• Her teeth are getting longer. Crane ran a finger inside Mei Lan’s mouth,
• The cub’s coordination and strength continue to improve, Crane said. Mei Lan at least twice tried to crawl off the table where her handlers conducted the examination.
Crane smiled at her young patient. “She continues to grow quite nicely, as you can see,” Crane said.
Zoo officials think Mei Lan may need those sneakers within two weeks, and maybe sooner.
Click here to see this week’s photo gallery and here for video.
PLUS: Did you hear about the zebra shark? Read about it here.
Atlanta’s panda gets ‘beautiful’ name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta, America, the world: Meet Mei Lan.
That’s the name officially given Friday morning to the Giant Panda cub born at Zoo Atlanta.
Translated from Mandarin Chinese, it means “Atlanta beauty.” It is pronounced “May-lan,” and will be the animal’s name for life.
It bested nine other entries in an online poll that drew more than 53,000 votes.
“We’re very excited with the name,” said Dennis Kelly, president/CEO of Zoo Atlanta. “It’s a perfect fit for the animal. It brings out both the best in Chinese culture and the culture of the south.”
The winning name drew 22 percent of the vote. “Mei Lan was the clear winner,” Kelly said. “There’s no runoff required here.”
Xiao Tao (“little peach”) took second place in the voting, with 19 percent of the vote. Mei Tao (“beautiful peach”) finished third, getting 13 percent.
With Chinese dignitaries, state and local officials and hundreds of panda fans watching, the zoo announced her name in a ceremony held, per Chinese custom, 100 days after her Sept. 6 birth. It was a traditional and festive affair, highlighted by dancing girls, cheering people and red banners.
Voters got to choose from among 10 names for the cub, whose parents Lun Lun and Yang Yang are here on a ten-year loan. The finalists came from Atlanta media organizations, the zoo, China and the restaurant chain Panda Express, a zoo sponsor. Mei-Lan was submitted by WSB-TV.
They ranged from names that hinted at the cub’s American roots — Cheng Ya (“Pretty Atlanta Girl From Chengdu”), for example. Others, such as Chang Jiang (“Yangtze River”), were reminders that the cub’s native land is China.
Some of the more than 53,000 votes cast came from across town, others from across continents. Voters included a marketing director in a palm-dotted suburb of Fort Lauderdale and a snowed-in student in Chicago. Teachers exhorted their students to study the names and choose wisely — for some youngsters, it was their introduction to democracy.
At Atlanta’s Neighborhood Charter School, less than a half-mile from the zoo, a first-grade class decorated their door with panda drawings. Kids visiting the zoo clamored for stuffed pandas toys or lapel pins featuring the serene likeness of a panda mother and her cub.
The naming, said Susan Elliott, the zoo’s director of public relations, was such a big deal that only a handful of zoo employees knew the name in advance. They had to sign a promise not to blab. Mei Lan is the only panda born outside China this year. Only four zoos in America have pandas.
Next to Beyonce’s phone number, “This is probably the one of the biggest secrets in Atlanta this year,” she said Thursday.
Now the secret is out. Soon, Mei Lan will be, too.
Zoo officials expect the cub, which has been taking her first tentative steps, to make an appearance outside with her mom any day now.
Click here for video and photos.
Panda baby takes first wobbly step
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Panda fans, post this on your message boards: She’s walking.
Zoo Atlanta’s 99-day-old giant panda cub rose on four shaky legs Thursday morning and took a few tentative steps — a first for the youngster.
She wobbled like a drunk in a windstorm, but there was no mistaking her intentions: She’s ready to move on her own, nearly in time for her naming ceremony.
It happened while Dr. Maria Crane, the zoo’s senior veterinarian, conducted her weekly exam of the cub, born Sept. 6. Joining her was Dr. Zhang Zhihe of the Chengdu Base of Giant Panda Breeding, in Atlanta for the cub’s 100-day naming ceremony, taking place Friday.
She’d been sound asleep, curled as tight as a comma, when Crane reached into her den. The cub slowly came awake while technicians weighed and measured her.
She stuck out a sturdy left front leg and dug her claws into a fiber mat examiners had placed on the exam table. The right front leg followed. And then…
The left rear leg reached out, shaking. The right leg followed. She quivered all over for a moment, then rose. The cub swayed on her feet. With Crane hovering like a worried mom, the cub took one step, another, a third. She flopped back down on the mat, looking sort of winded from all the exercise.
Zoo officials were as tickled as if one of their own youngsters had grabbed a stool and pushed it all around the kitchen. They’ve been predicting the cub will be walking by early next year or sooner.
“She tried to walk off the end of the table,” Crane said.
That’s not all. Her nails, shiny and hard, got clipped for the second time. Crane left them long enough so the youngster can get plenty of traction should she decide to take a turn around her den.
Here are the vitals:
She weighs 12 pounds now, a “significant gain” of more than a pound in the last week.
She’s about 26.5 inches long — more than an inch of growth in the past week — but that’s just an estimate. Her wiggling makes getting an accurate reading about as easy as threading a needle on a roller coaster.
Her fur now seems as thick as that of her parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang.
In short, said Crane, she’s ready for her naming, taking place at a 10 a.m. ceremony. When everyone stands to cheer her name, maybe she will, too.
Chinese adoptees to sing at panda-naming party
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They are Americans, many still new to this four-lane land where neon competes with sunrise.
They also are Chinese, natives of an ancient place that has given the world one of the most beloved creatures ever to walk the planet.
On Friday, when they sing during the naming ceremony for Zoo Atlanta’s baby panda, the girls will be ambassadors whose smiles beam in both directions — east and west.
Twenty metro Atlanta girls, ages 5 to 11, will be part of the celebration commemorating the 100-day anniversary of the cub’s birth. Born Sept. 6, the giant panda cub will get a name, selected from among 10 candidates by online voters. As of last Friday, more than 42,000 votes had been submitted from around the world. Voting ended at midnight Sunday.
And, as Chinese dignitaries, state and zoo officials, panda fans and others watch, the girls, each of whom got American parents through Chinese Children Adoption International, will do their bit. They’ll sing “Panda Mimi,” a Chinese tune about a panda and her baby.
“This is part of their heritage, their culture,” said Anne McSweeney of Alpharetta, who handles promotions for the Georgia office of the Colorado-based nonprofit organization. She and her husband, Steve, adopted a 1-year-old from China last year.
“I’m really blown away by the work the girls have put into it,” McSweeney said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”
A big deal indeed. The cub’s naming will cap years of planning for her conception and birth, months of keeping a constant eye on her growth, and hours of nearly nonstop smiles over how well she’s grown. A panda cub that has lived 100 days has an excellent chance of surviving to adulthood.
On Thursday, the 99th day of the cub’s life, she will undergo her usual weekly checkup — with a slight twist. Instead of the zoo’s senior veterinarian, Dr. Zhang Zhihe of the Chengdu Base of Giant Panda Breeding, in Atlanta specifically for the celebration, will conduct the exam. Chengdu is the permanent home of the cub’s parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang.
That evening, Zoo Atlanta will host a 99th-night reception and dinner. Its co-host is the Georgia Department of Economic Development, which wants to establish closer ties with the country that gave pandas to the world.
Then, on Friday at 10 a.m., the baby’s name will be announced. The zoo has set aside 250 spaces for ticket holders to watch the live, televised announcement. They’ll gather in the Coca-Cola World Studio at the zoo’s Action Resource Center for the ceremony. As of Friday, 201 tickets had been sold.
A handful of others — zoo officials, Chinese visitors and others who have had a hand in the panda’s birth and development — will be nearby in the center’s Ford Conference Room, where they’ll announce the name.
The 20 singers? Ten will perform for ticket holders, and an equal number will sing for the visiting Chinese and others. Their song will be the same, as will their mission — ambassadors smiling at their new land and their old.
Last chance to vote on panda cub’s name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve cogitated, ruminated, procrastinated: Now, with Sunday looming, you don’t have much time to cast your vote for the name for Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda.
The online polls close at the last minute of the day Sunday. When midnight tolls, and Monday begins, it will be too late.
The names, posted on ajc.com, have come from local and international sources. By Friday afternoon, more than 42,000 votes had been cast.
The winning name will be announced Friday, Dec. 15, during a special ceremony at Zoo Atlanta, when the cub is 100 days old.
Bobby Cox weighs in on panda’s name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Glavine, sticking with the Mets? You win some, you - well, you know the rest.
The bullpen? That’ll work itself out.
The baby panda’s name?
Time out!
Braves Manager Bobby Cox forgot about his team for a few minutes on Thursday to consider a crucial question: What’s the best name to give the baby giant panda at Zoo Atlanta?
He checked out the 10 possible names in front of him as closely as he watches his nine men on the field.
After reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, Cox penciled in his choice to lead off the names:
Xiao Tao, or “Little Peach.”
It’s the same choice that fellow Braves Jeff Francouer and Brian McCann made earlier this week, by the way.
Hmmm. Could Xiao Tao be on a winning streak?
Panda cub to make public debut soon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coming soon, to a sunny, public spot: Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda.
The unnamed cub reached a milestone Thursday morning during her weekly examination. She stood, shakily, for a few seconds, her furry fanny rising like a balloon.
That means she should be walking soon, said Dr. Maria Crane, the zoo’s senior veterinarian, who conducted the checkup. And when she starts walking, the cub doubtless will follow her mama, Lun Lun, into a public viewing area.
That should happen, Crane estimated, in about four weeks — perhaps sooner.
“There is a high possibility” that people wanting to see the adult Lun Lun early next year might get a bonus glimpse of her youngster, Crane said.
When she does make her debut, the kid will be sporting some teeth, too. Examiners discovered eight more teeth had erupted from her gums in the past week, meaning the cub now has 12.
Other findings:
• The cub now weighs 10.8 pounds. That’s about one pound more than her weight seven days ago.
• She’s now 25.25 inches long. Last week, she was two inches shorter.
• Her fur gets ever thicker, dense enough to ward off the worst chill on a Chinese mountainside — more than enough to keep Georgia’s winters howling in frustration.
• Her eyes are still developing, and are keener now than they ever have been.
• She’s stronger than ever, too. She wiggled like a puppy in a sack during the eight-minute exam.
Crane, probing the cub, couldn’t hide a grin under her surgical mask. “We’re very excited that she’s doing as well as she is,” Crane said.
When zoo officials, dignitaries and others gather next Friday at the zoo to witness her naming, the star of the show should be in fine shape.
Well-known Atlantans weigh in on Panda name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Xiao Tao is a big hit with Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur, two guys who know something about hitting. And they’re not alone.
OutKast’s André Benjamin, who knows something about sounds, likes the sound of Ming Yue.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin? The name she prefers for Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda is … well, more on that later. Her Honor may still be mulling her choices.
Through Sunday, the world has the opportunity to choose a name for the little female panda, born Sept. 6, via online voting at ajc.com. Anyone with Internet access can choose from 10 names provided by Zoo Atlanta, its sponsors and China, owner of the cub and her parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang.
As of noon Tuesday, 28,470 votes had been cast. A winner will be announced Dec. 15.
The names, written in Mandarin Chinese, range from celestial (Ming Xing, or Bright Star) to agricultural (Xiao Tao, or Little Peach). Some refer to the panda’s Atlanta roots — Mei Lan means Atlanta Beauty, for example. Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) reminds us that the panda is here but for a short time; one day, she will return to the land where the Chinese river curls to the sea.
But first, she needs a name. From Georgia to England, and Chicago to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, everyone has a favorite.
Terry Maple likes Mei Li (“Beautiful”) and Ping Bao (“Peacefulness and Precious Treasure”). The former executive director of Zoo Atlanta helped engineer the zoo’s temporary acquisition of Lun Lun and Yang Yang, who arrived in Atlanta in 1999. Lun Lun delivered Sept. 6, making Maple feel sort of like a grandfather.
“This is such a special animal,” said Maple, now CEO of Palm Beach Zoo in Florida. “Every little kid in the state of Georgia is thinking about that panda right now.”
The young scholars at the Atlanta New Century School certainly are. The school, located downtown in the shadow of the Georgia Aquarium, plans to vote a day before the deadline. Each of the school’s six classes will select a favorite.
The 4-year-olds in Latashaa Martin’s class came down on the side of Xiao Tao and Ming Xing (Bright Star). Peaches, they noted, taste good.
The fifth-graders agreed to submit Ping Bao (Peacefulness and Precious Treasure), which didn’t altogther please Justis Mullins, 11. Justis, who plans to pitch for the Braves when he grows up, lobbied for Xiao Tao.
“You know how the peach has fuzz on it?” he asked. “The panda … does, too.”
In Chicago, panda fan Susie Berger voted for Cheng Ya, or Pretty Atlanta Girl from Chengdu. Berger, 39, has been a fan of the unnamed cub since before it even was a cub. Logging on periodically to Zoo Atlanta’s Web site, she’d watched closely as officials began to think Lun Lun was pregnant. “When she had the cub, I immediately burst out in tears,” she said.
In Staffordshire, England, writer Amanda Aarons felt like cheering when the cub was born. She thinks the young panda should be named Ming Yue (Bright Moon).
Why does she care about a little animal five time zones away? “They’re so fragile” at birth, she said. “It’s almost as if they’re not ready to be born, isn’t it?”
Franklin wasn’t ready to declare her favorite name late last week. Faced with the 10 names, Franklin waffled. She paused. An aide whispered something in her ear, but Her Honor ignored him.
Ever the diplomat, Franklin took a firm stand on three sides of the naming issue: Cheng Ya (Pretty Atlanta Girl From Chengdu), Xiao Tao and Ming Yue.
“They’re all so good,” Franklin said.
Despite repeated requests to offer a favorite, Gov. Sonny Perdue did not respond. However U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson did: An aide said Isakson liked Xiao Tao, too.
The recording artist sitting atop Billboard’s No. 1 singles chart had no such trouble choosing a favorite. Atlanta rapper Akon opted for Ming Xing.
“It just sounds really pretty,” said Akon, whose “I Wanna Love You (with Snoop Dogg) is the most popular pop song in the country.
Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback D.J. Shockley wasn’t reluctant to call some audibles on the names. The former University of Georgia star took sides with the moniker that features his hometown — Mei Lan (Atlanta Beauty). “That’s pretty nice,” he said.
Shockley also singled out names that shouldn’t be in the game.
Cheng Ya? “Definitely not,” he said.
And Ping Bao? “Are you kidding me? You can’t call it that.”
Xiao Tao, pronounced “shao-tao,” also works for Daryn Kagan. The former CNN anchor, who recently launched a Web site featuring inspiring news stories, thinks the name translating to Little Peach is best. She voted early, lingering over a bowl of Raisin Bran sprinkled wth Honey Smacks while she made her choice.
“I … was so intrigued that I poured an extra bowl of cereal,” she wrote in an e-mail. “I like the mention of ‘peach’ for Atlanta.”
So did Gerry Klaskala, the executive chef and owner of Buckhead restaurant Aria. “It’s so easy to pronounce,” Klaskala said. “It sounds like ‘Shout out’!”
OutKast’s Benjamin, an Atlanta resident and creator of the Cartoon Network show “Class of 3000,” liked Ming Yue. The name, he said, “just sounds good coming off the tongue.”
Mei Tao (Beautiful Peach) sounded good to a majority of the Atlanta City Council. “It’s easy to say,” said council member Carla Smith, whose district includes the zoo.
Chet Chin also voted. The communications executive, who lives in Kuala Lumpur, had kept a close watch on the panda’s progress from hairless to lustrous. “It just makes me happy looking at them,” said Chin, who logs on late at night to see the zoo’s daytime-only panda cam, 13 time zones away. “All my cares don’t matter any more when I look at them.”
She does care, though, about the cub’s name. This past weekend, while most of Atlanta was probably asleep, she joined the Xiao Tao team, siding with McCann, Francoeur and a world of others who want a say in the naming of Atlanta’s little cub.
Online voting continues through Dec. 10 here
Staffers Virginia Lewis, Bob Longino, Sonia Murray, Steve Wyche and Jill Vejnoska contributed to this article.
VIPs vote for panda name
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What’s your favorite name for Zoo Atlanta’s panda cub?
With online voting continuing through Dec. 10 here, we asked celebrities and other V.I.P.s to name the female bear, choosing from the list of ten finalists provided by sponsors, Zoo Atlanta and Chinese officials. Some early feedback:
Atlanta Braves Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer like Xiao Tao (“Little Peach”).
Andre Benjamin of Outkast prefers Ming Yue (“Bright Moon”).
Falcons quarterback D.J. Shockley votes for Mei Lan (“Atlanta Beauty”).
Former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan also likes Xiao Tao (“Little Peach”). “I like the mention of “peach” for Atlanta,” she said.
Ever the diplomat, Mayor Shirley Franklin took a firm stand on three sides of the naming issue: Cheng Ya (“Pretty Atlanta Girl From Chengdu), Xia Tao (“Little Peach”) and Ming Yue (“Bright Moon”).
The winning name will be announced Dec. 15 from the following list of contenders:
1. Xiao Tao (shao-tao) “little peach”
2. Mei Tao (may-tao) “beautiful peach”
3. Mei Lan (may-lan) “Atlanta beauty”
4. Mei Li (may-lee) “beautiful”
5. Ming Xing (ming-shing)”bright star”
6. Ping Bao (ping - bao) “peacefulness and precious treasure” 7. Cheng Ya (chung-ya) “pretty Atlanta girl from Chengdu”
8. Ming Yue (ming-yuu) “bright moon”
9. Chang Jiang (chung-jung) “Yangtze River”
10. Tai Ji (tai-ji) “Tai Chi- philosophical foundation of Taoism”
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