SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Friday, October 12, 2012

What happened to the National Zoo Panda

WASHINGTON -- National Zoo scientists have determined a 6-day-old giant panda cub's death last month wasn't momma bear's fault, and life was returning to normal Thursday for giant panda Mei Xiang.

 The panda mom has stopped cradling a toy and left her den to spend more time in her yard. On Thursday morning, she strolled outside, found a frozen, fruity popsicle and turned her back to a gathering crowd to enjoy breakfast. Mei Xiang's cub, born Sept. 16, died of liver trouble and signs of lung disease, said Chief Veterinarian Suzan Murray. After a full necropsy, scientists found the tiny female cub's lungs hadn't fully developed and likely weren't sending enough oxygen to the liver.

The cub was possibly born prematurely. Zoo scientists are trying to learn more about how common liver and lung defects are in newborn pandas. "As unfortunate as this was, this baby and studies of this baby post mortem are contributing to our knowledge of panda reproductive science," said Donald Moore, the zoo's associate director for animal sciences. Zoo keepers have said Mei Xiang took careful care of the cub. It weighed only about 4 ounces when it died. The tiny hairless, helpless creatures can be easily crushed, but the cub had no sign of injury. A small amount of milk in the digestive system suggested she had nursed. 

Panda fans keeping tabs online were devastated by the death.

The zoo has received an outpouring of cards and letters from around the world and some donations for conservation. The birth was a surprise because it hadn't been clear whether Mei Xiang was still fertile. On Wednesday, animal keepers cleared out the bamboo nest she had built after she stopped sleeping in the den. "She didn't seem to miss it, wasn't upset that it was gone," said panda keeper Marty Dearie.

 Mei Xiang's appetite is slowly returning to normal. She stopped eating and stayed in her den for nearly a month to give birth and care for the cub. Now she's eating about 80 percent of her bamboo, fruits, vegetables and biscuits. She's still about 20 pounds under her normal weight of 240.