SAN DIEGO ZOO VETS SAY BABY PANDA IS A GROWING BOY

September 17, 2003

For the third consecutive week, the San Diego Zoo's veterinary staff conducted a routine exam on the male panda cub at the SBC Giant Panda Research Station. Results from the exam show that Bai Yun's newborn is receiving the proper nutrition from his mom. The unnamed cub currently weighs 961 grams or 34 ounces - a gain of more than 400 grams since last week's examination. In addition to the weight gain, the male panda has grown a little more than an inch, measuring at 29.3 centimeters or 11.5 inches long.
Karen Kearns, associate veterinarian at the Zoo, performed the brief exam after Bai Yun briefly left the birthing den Wednesday (Sept. 17) afternoon.
" His strong vocalizations indicated healthy lungs," said Kearns, DVM. "His heart rate was normal and the heart sounds were strong. We were again pleased with the results from the exam."
The San Diego Zoo is home to four giant pandas. Bai Yun and her male cub can be seen live on the Zoo's Panda Cam at www.sandiegozoo.org and guests can view Gao Gao, the adult male panda, and Hua Mei, the 4-year-old female panda, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at the panda research station.
The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) and the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas worldwide.