The National Zoo’s newborn panda gets a checkup. (Courtesy National Zoo) Those giant pandas grow up so fast. D.C.’s newest baby panda got its first checkup. On Sunday, the National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang left the den to eat some bamboo, which gave the zoo staff a chance to give her 3-week-old cub its first neonatal exam. The wee bairn comes in at just under 1.5 pounds and appears healthy and vibrant, according to the zoo’s latest update. A typical adult female giant panda can weigh between 155 to 220 pounds, while an adult male panda can weigh between 190 to 275 pounds. The cub’s fur is also growing nicely, but its pink skin is still showing on its muzzle, at the top of its head, upper back and tail. The newborn panda at the National Zoo gets inspected by zookeepers. (Courtesy National Zoo) In another few weeks, its eyes and ear canals will begin to open, the zoo said. Zoo staff do not want to upset Mei Xiang by handling the cub longer than necessary, and as the attentive mom leaves the den for longer periods of time, staff will get more opportunities to perform more thorough health checks, including getting a cheek swab to determine the cub’s sex. Watch the baby cub yawning, while cuddled up with its mom. And to see what the National Zoo’s pandas are up to, tune in to its Panda Cam.
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Hundreds of guinea pigs fill Massachusetts sanctuary with squeals, purrs and lots of love
SALISBURY, Mass. (AP) — Kimie Smothermon begins each day greeted by the squeals, chirps and purrs of nearly 400 guinea pigs.
Depending on who you ask, tending to the daily barrage of guinea pig needs can be either a fairy tale or a horror show. For Smothermon, it’s often a mix of both.
“If I could figure out how to get out of this at this point, I probably would,” Smothermon joked. “But I do believe that to a certain extent, I probably wouldn’t get out of bed if I didn’t have this.”
Smothermon is the owner of the Guinea Pig Sanctuary, in Salisbury, Massachusetts, roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Boston. On any given day, 350 to 400 guinea pigs are housed in a modest workspace, split into cages stacked from the floor to ceiling.
