Pandas

The National Zoo, San Diego Zoo and two other U.S. zoos with giant pandas are launching an effort to raise money for colleagues in an earthquake-ravaged section of China that is home to a renowned panda facility. The Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Sichuan province, was a short distance from the epicenter of the earthquake that struck May 12. National Zoo officials said five workers at the reserve are believed to have died in the disaster.

The most famous refugees from last month's earthquake in Sichuan province lounge on their backs chewing long stalks of bamboo. Like bored celebrities, they shrug off the camera flashes on the other side of glass and the endless repetition of "Na'me ke'ai!" -- so cute! The eight young pandas at the Beijing Zoo were evacuated from the Wolong Nature Reserve, the world's largest panda breeding center, after the May 12 earthquake that killed 70,000 people and left about 5 million homeless.

Stop the presses! Alert the bloggers! The two adult giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo mated Tuesday, zoo officials announced, raising hopes of an offspring this summer. So far, Bai Yun and Gao Gao are two for two during their stay at the zoo under a loan from the Chinese government. The pair mated in 2003 and the male Mei Sheng was born that August. They mated again in 2005 and female Su Lin was born that August.

The first panda released into the wild after being bred in captivity has died in China, apparently from a fall. Officials said the body bore injuries inflicted by wild pandas, and the animal may have died trying to escape. The body of 5-year-old Xiang Xiang was found Feb. 19 in the forests of Sichuan province, the official New China News Agency said. He survived less than a year of freedom, despite nearly three years of training on surviving in the wild.

About 2 million years ago, in lowland tropical forests of what is now China, there lived an ancestor of the giant panda that was very similar to the modern-day bear but was only about half its size, scientists said Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers from the University of Iowa described a complete skull -- about 60% of the size of the modern panda -- and teeth of a pygmy-sized panda.

Mickey Mouse may have met his match -- the giant panda. It was supposed to be a one-sided battle. Instead, in the nearly two years since Disneyland came to town, people in Hong Kong have rediscovered a theme park that's been sitting in their backyard for three decades, weathering all the ups and downs the territory has faced, from British colonial rule to its return to China to the deadly illness known as SARS.

The National Zoo won't be hearing oohs and aahs over a new panda cub this year. Zoo officials said that the giant panda Mei Xiang was not pregnant after all. Her hormone levels had soared after she was artificially inseminated, then dropped, signaling a cub could be born. But an ultrasound showed no fetus, and zoo officials determined she wasn't pregnant. False pregnancies are common in pandas, and Mei Xiang has had four. Her only cub, Tai Shan, turns 2 on Monday.

The male panda Mei Sheng will be shipped to China, probably in October, zoo officials announced Tuesday. The 3-year-old panda was born at the San Diego Zoo but, under the terms of a loan agreement with the Chinese government, must be sent to China.

Bai Yun, the giant panda at the San Diego Zoo, is pregnant, zoo officials said Tuesday. The father is Gao Gao, also at the San Diego Zoo. Bai Yun, 16, has had three cubs at the zoo: Hua Mei in 1999, Mei Sheng in 2003 and Su Lin in 2005. Bai Yun has been taken off exhibit and is expected to give birth within weeks, officials said.

Bai Yun, a giant panda at the San Diego Zoo, gave birth Friday to a healthy cub, her fourth offspring. Gao Gao, also at the zoo, is the father. The cub's gender will not be determined for months, officials said. Bai Yun and the cub will stay off exhibit for several months but they can be seen on the Panda Cam at www.sandiegozoo.org. Including the cub, the San Diego Zoo has five pandas, more than any other U.S. zoo.