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Thursday, February 15, 2007
Mei Lan, rocket girl?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She rolls. She rollicks. She runs. Mei Lan can do just about anything these days. Except sit still. That’s just asking too much of Zoo Atlanta’s 5-month-old baby giant panda.
Zoo officials conducted their weekly checkup on their furry dynamo Thursday morning. Mei Lan was as docile as a bag of kittens. Dr. Maria Crane, the zoo’s chief veterinarian, reached for her measuring tape to get the youngster’s vitals — length, girth, paw size, that sort of stuff. She tried once. Mei Lan rolled over. She tried again. Mei Lan bounded to a corner. Crane tried a third time. The cub skittered off in another direction. Crane gave up, and instead issued a scientific observation: “She’s grown.” Last week, Crane estimated the cub was 32 inches long.
What else do they know?
• Mei Lan now weighs 21 pounds, gaining another pound in the past seven days.
• She’s fast. When Crane finished her exam, she left the cub in the corner of her sleeping area and headed for the door. Mei Lan scooted past her, arriving at the door first.
• She’s strong — and headstrong, too. When Crane took the cub’s temperature with a rectal thermometer, the doctor added another fact to the zoo’s growing volume of Mei Lan findings: “She really didn’t like that.”
• The cub is as healthy as her mom, Lun Lun, and dad, Yang Yang. She follows Lun Lun about like a fat little shadow. She climbs logs and rolls in buckets. She swats and gnaws on her toys. She ripples with energy and curiosity.
• She’s spending more time outside every day. As soon as zoo officials can reasonably expect her to remain outdoors for extended periods, they’ll schedule a formal debut for Mei Lan, said Susan Elliott, Zoo Atlanta’s spokesperson. The zoo also will sell timed tickets for people to see the cub and her parents when Mei Lan has her coming-out in Atlanta society, Elliott said.
“We’re so excited with her,” Elliott said. “Everyone is just thrilled with her progress.”
To keep track of her pending debut, check outwww.zooatlanta.org
