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Article: Ling-Ling Bears a Bundle To Hsing-Hsing About; Zoo Keepers Elated by Healthy Newborn
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 24, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Ling-Ling, the National Zoo's female giant panda, gave birth
early yesterday to a 4-ounce cub, whose lusty squeals signaled its
apparent good health and whose continued survival would reward zoo
keepers with the first successfully bred giant panda in the United
States.
The cub's aging mother immediately cradled and licked the new
arrival, exhibiting what zoo officials called "normal maternal
attentiveness" toward the 5-inch-long infant.
"She's doing everything right," said one keeper.
The birth, at 3:33 a.m. in the zoo's popular Panda House, elated
zoo officials, some of whom were beginning to wonder if Ling-Ling,
18, and her mate, Hsing-Hsing, 17, would ever again become parents.
The ...