Giant Panda Cub at San Diego Zoo Measured, Examined

2012-10-10 — /travelprnews.com/ — Veterinarians measure the giant panda cub at the San Diego Zoo this morning during his weekly exam. The panda measures 11 inches (28 cm) from the base of his head to the tip of his tail. His overall length, from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail, is approximately 20 inches (53cm). He weighed 7.3 pounds (3.3 kilograms) on Tuesday morning.

The panda cub remained very calm during his exam, which the staff believes is because he had just finished nursing and had a full stomach. At one point staff seemed to think he might fall asleep.

Beth Bicknese, senior veterinarian for the San Diego Zoo, noted that she could feel his teeth just below his gums. While pandas have dentition consistent with other carnivores, their molars are larger and flatter than other bear species. The shape of their teeth is believed to be an evolutionary adaption for their diet of bamboo, which is a hard grass that they grind between their teeth before swallowing.

Panda cubs will nurse from their mothers as their primary source of nutrition until they are about a year old and are not expected to start eating bamboo until then.

The giant panda cub and his mother, Bai Yun, can be viewed on PandaCam www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam 24 hours a day.

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