In Spring, a Panda’s Thoughts Turn To ….

The Smithsonian National Zoo reports that panda daddy Tian Tian is “in full rut,” scent-marking, rolling around, and bleating at panda momma Mei Xiang, who is restlessness but not really into it: “She often responds to Tian Tian’s calls with a moan vocalization that indicates she is not interested in him just yet.”

The female panda only goes into heat for at most 3 days a year, leaving 362 when she’s JUST NOT IN THE MOOD thankyouverymuch. Pass the bamboo, please.

More:

“Giant Panda Tian Tian Is Feeling Horny, Restless,” Rachel Kurzius, DCist

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Snowzilla In DC

Area schools closed Thursday and Friday, and the mayor declared a state of emergency, but the best reaction to this week’s Snowzilla blizzard came from National Zoo resident Tian Tian:

Double-Good News from Washington DC

In the Nation’s Capital, Congress and the President may be on vacation, but the Smithsonian’s National Zoo has been busy. The zoo’s 17-year-old Giant Panda Mei Xiang gave birth to two cubs over the weekend. The twins are pink, and while new-born pandas are often said to be be the size of sticks of butter, they’re really more like packs of Starburst. The father of the two is Tian Tian, who had a little help from the National Zoo staff. Mother and cubbies are doing fine.

More:

“National Zoo’s twin pandas are only the 3rd set to be born at a U.S. zoo,” Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post

“It’s panda-monium! National Zoo says Mei Xiang has twins,” Jessica Gresko, AP via Deseret News

“Bamboo-zled: Panda surprises with birth of twins,” AFP via Asia Times

“Double the Joy at National Zoo as Panda Gives Birth to Twins,” Daniel Politi, Slate

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Panda Viewing

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park made a rare juvenile female Ailuropoda melanoleuca available for public observation today, and hundreds of researchers participated. Review of preliminary field notes indicates wide agreement that the specimen is a widdle bitty roly-poly fuzzy-wuzzy cutise-wootsie-poo.

Name the Panda Cub

The National Zoo’s cute little panda princess needs a name. Vote here (or here for the Chinese ballot). Voting closes November 22nd.

More:

“Name of zoo’s giant panda cub is going up for a vote,” Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post

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Orangutans & iPads

Orangutans at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are using iPads. That explains lots of blog comment threads ….

Seriously, this is a giant evolutionary step for our caged simian cousins. App-groping apes will become just as productive as iPad-toting humans, spending hours with Facebook and Angry Birds.

More:

“What Happens When You Give an Orangutan an iPad?,” Leah Binkovitz, Around the Mall blog

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Pandas: Unshakeable

Many animals at DC’s National Zoo were upset by the recent earthquake. Even before the quake struck, red ruffed lemurs were alarm-barking, Iris the orangutan yelled, and the flamingos huddled together in a big pink ball.

The Giant Pandas were neither stirred nor shaken. They just sat there, chewing bamboo. Those critters are tough. They’re from China. They were probably thinking: “Pah. You call that an earthquake?”

The Panda Express

Washington-born panda Tai Shan (known locally as “Butterstick“) is set to leave the National Zoo for Bifengxia (“Green Peak Canyon”) in China. By FedEx.

Federal Express has prepared a special “Panda Express” airplane to transport the four-year-old chubby cub to a panda breeding center in his ancestral home. The plane’s name is rather unfortunate; it’s the same as Andrew and Peggy Cherng’s 820-store fast food chain.

Creditor Repossesses DC Panda

Tai Shan, the National Zoo’s four-year-old panda cub, will be sent to the People’s Republic of China, the largest U.S. creditor, Smithsonian officials announced today. 

The United States owes China approximately eleventy-seven trillion dollars plus three giant pandas.

Panda repo details here.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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