Panda Fever!

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November 2008
- Panda Bites Student Who Tries to Cuddle
  
  BBC | Nov 22, 08 4:22 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A student who tried to hug a panda in China yesterday got some tough love instead, BBC reports. Officials say the man, 20, climbed into the pen of Yang Yang at the Qixing Park zoo to cuddle. But the frightened bear bit him on the arms and legs. "Yang Yang was so cute," the student said later. He underwent surgery and is expected to recover after a few days in hospital. More »
October 2008
- China Offers Chicken Soup for Pandas' Stressed Souls
  
  Associated Press | Oct 3, 08 5:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Even pandas need tender love and chicken soup: Chinese zoo officials have been feeding two 3-year-old cubs the hearty stock to reduce their stress. “Hope” and “Greatness” have been worn out by thousands of tourists clamoring for their attention in central Wuhan during China’s weeklong holiday. “They had been getting less sleep,” one official tells AP, “and they had to run around more.” More »
August 2008
- Atlanta Panda Now a 2-Time Mama
  
  WEBTV | Aug 31, 08 3:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A giant panda in Zoo Atlanta became a mommy for the second time last night, and a twin might even be on the way, WSB Atlanta reports. Lun Lun gave birth at 10:10pm, the first panda in the US to do so this year. She previously gave birth in 2006. “We are delighted, proud and elated,” the zoo’s president says. More »
July 2008
- It's Raining Baby Pandas in China
  
  BBC | Jul 27, 08 4:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Four giant pandas were born within 14 hours of each other at a Chinese breeding center over the weekend, giving a much-needed population boost to the endangered species. Nine-year-old Qiyuan gave birth to twins, and two other 8-year-old pandas each gave birth to a cub in Sichuan province, BBC reports. Only 1,600 giant pandas remain in the wild due to deforestation and rare contact between populations, but 180 are being raised in captivity in China. More »
- Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub
  
  BBC | Jul 10, 08 9:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A newborn red panda rejected by its mother has been adopted by a zookeeper's cat, the BBC reports. The panda and its sibling were first put on an incubator at the Dutch zoo but the tabby cat, who had recently given birth, proved willing to take the kitten-sized panda cubs under her paw. The weaker panda cub died but the other, still nameless, is suckling with the kittens. More »
June 2008
- National Zoo's Panda Preggers?
  
  Associated Press | Jun 20, 08 11:56 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either give birth or come to the end of a false pregnancy in late July. More »
- China Mourns Panda Killed in Earthquake
  
  Associated Press | Jun 10, 08 5:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Workers at the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province gathered today for the funeral of Mao Mao, a 9-year-old panda killed in the May 12 earthquake. Mao Mao, the mother of five, was one of 64 pandas at the reserve. She died when the river beside her enclosure crushed the walls, and her body wasn't discovered until yesterday, the AP reports. More »
- Quake Pandas Delight Beijing
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 6, 08 3:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Eight giant pandas shaken by last month's earthquake made their first appearance at the Beijing Zoo yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Huge crowds visited the pandas, who seemed none the worse for wear from the move, planned before the quake to coincide with the Olympics. The zoo expects daily crowds of 100,000 this weekend, five times normal. More »
- Quake-Rattled Pandas Get Hugs, Bamboo
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 3, 08 6:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Zookeepers are helping pandas traumatized by the Sichuan earthquake get back to normal with hugs and games, the Guardian reports. Eight young pandas have been sent to Beijing Zoo and 47 more remain at the Wolong reserve, where the deputy chief said the animals' appetites are back to normal, but warns it will take up to 20 years for the center to fully recover. More »
May 2008
- Japan Balks at $1M Panda Price Tag
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 9, 08 9:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hu Jintao is making the first visit to Japan by a Chinese president in 10 years, and he's looking to solidify the newly amicable relationship with an offering of two giant pandas. But the rare animals aren't a gift, exactly: they're a loan, and they come at a yearly cost of $1 million apiece. The high price has forced the panda-loving Japanese to rethink the offer, writes the Wall Street Journal . More »
April 2008
- Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies
  
  Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ling Ling, the undisputed star of the Tokyo Zoo and a symbol of friendship between Japan and China, died today of heart failure, the AP reports. At 22—the equivalent of 70 human years—the giant panda was Japan’s oldest, and the fifth-oldest in the world. Ling Ling had been eating poorly since August, suffering from kidney and heart problems. He'd been withdrawn from public view just one day when he was found dead. More »
January 2008
- Vienna's Baby Panda Says Hello
  
  Associated Press | Jan 31, 08 9:03 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Vienna's newest celebrity made his debut yesterday as the 5-month-old panda Fu Long met the public for the first time. The Austrian capital's Schönbrunn Zoo had to issue a statement to anxious panda fans that the cloistered cub was healthy and growing strong. Only yesterday afternoon did Fu Long emerge to an adoring crowd, although the zoo's director told the AP that the panda is more of "a night owl." More »
December 2007
- Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty
  
  Times (UK) | Dec 16, 07 6:45 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Four panda bears bred in captivity in China will soon be set free in a bid to save their species from extinction. But first, they've got to toughen up. Scientists at the nation's biggest panda breeding center are preparing to release two males and two females into the wild, and they're trying to give the bears street smarts of a sort—how to sense danger and fend off attacks, the Times reports. More »
November 2007
- Panda Style Irks Chinese
  
  Times (UK) | Nov 27, 07 8:04 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Chinese officials are so upset over panda fashions that they're vowing a new law against images of the bears, the Times reports. Fashion designer Zhao Bandi sparked their ire during China Fashion Week in Chengdu by dressing models in black and white teddies with fluffy ears. Now officials in the city—where most of China's test-tube pandas are born—may ban all images of the friendly symbol. More »
- Panda Couple a Model of Fertility
  
  Associated Press | Nov 26, 07 10:35 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Suggesting that quality does best quantity, two of the most reproductively successful pandas in captivity meet—and mate—but once a year, the AP reveals. Since 2003 the San Diego Zoo's Bai Yun and Gao Gao have produced three cubs, a great feat for the endangered species. The youngest is to be named today, when she reaches 100 days old, following Chinese tradition. More »
- 75% of Bear Species at Risk
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Nov 12, 07 7:15 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Southeast Asia's sun bear is now the sixth of eight bear species facing extinction worldwide, the Telegraph reports. Experts admit they know little about the bear, but blame deforestation, hunting, and fearful villagers for menacing the species. "We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30 per cent over the past 30 years (three bear generations)," said one specialist. More »
September 2007
- 1,300 years of global diplomacy ends for China's giant pandas
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 14, 07
  
  There are believed to be only 1,600 pandas in the wild, living in the nature reserves of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. But the captive population has made a comeback in recent years, providing a ready supply for foreign zoos. Even so, according to ChinaNews, the age of the free panda friendship symbol is over.
- Happy First Birthday, Mei Lan!
  
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Sep 7, 07 3:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Atlanta's Panda cub Mei Lan celebrated her fir

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Panda Bites Student Who Tries to Cuddle

China Offers Chicken Soup for Pandas' Stressed Souls

Atlanta Panda Now a 2-Time Mama

It's Raining Baby Pandas in China

Tabby Adopts Red Panda Cub

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?

China Mourns Panda Killed in Earthquake

Quake Pandas Delight Beijing

Quake-Rattled Pandas Get Hugs, Bamboo

Japan Balks at $1M Panda Price Tag

Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies

Vienna's Baby Panda Says Hello

Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty

Panda Style Irks Chinese

Panda Couple a Model of Fertility

75% of Bear Species at Risk

1,300 years of global diplomacy ends for China's giant pandas

Happy First Birthday, Mei Lan!