ZOO'S MALE PANDA CUB GOES THROUGH NORMAL STATE OF DEVELOPMENT

Interview with Lee Young, DVM, associate veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2003

According the San Diego Zoo's veterinary staff and giant panda researchers, the Zoo's unnamed male panda cub is continuing to do well, health wise and behaviorally. This morning (Wed. Sept. 24) the Zoo's veterinary staff performed another routine exam on the cub as Bai Yun departed the birthing den for food and water at the SBC Giant Panda Research Station.

This is the fourth exam performed on the month-old cub. The Zoo's animal care staff estimated the exam to last 10 minutes as veterinarians collected the cub's body measurements and checked its heart rate and lungs. After 37 days, the cub now weighs 1425.8 grams or 3.14 pounds and measures more than a foot long (13 inches).

"The extended length of the exam could be a sign of comfort with Bai Yun and the
cub," said Lee Young, associate veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo. "The little guy is still active, but he is becoming accustomed to the weekly examinations. And Bai Yun is showing no signs of distress while her cub is removed from the den."

Young also noted the cub is beginning to resemble a giant panda more and more as the black and white pigmentation and fur coat appears throughout its body.