Panda Newborn Gets Clean Bill of Health
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From Times Wire Reports
The National Zoo’s giant panda cub is male, weighs just under 2 pounds and is 1 foot long, according to a veterinarian who examined the newborn.
The cub’s heart and respiratory rates indicate that he is in good health, zoo associate veterinarian Sharon Deem said in a statement. He weighs 1.82 pounds, nearly four times what he probably weighed at birth.
When mother Mei Xiang left the birthing den to eat bamboo in a neighboring room at the Panda House, Deem, assistant curator Lisa Stevens and panda keeper Laurie Perry gave the cub a nine-minute exam.
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