Washington's baby panda named Tai Shan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only 100 days old, and already baby panda Tai Shan has his face on T-shirts at the U.S. National Zoo, after a naming ceremony on Monday punctuated by drumbeats, a clanging gong and Chinese lion dancers.

 

 

Tai Shan, which means "peaceful mountain," got his name according to Chinese custom and as the result of a public online contest in which more than 202,000 people voted.

 

 

The 13-pound (6 kilogram) guest of honour remained in seclusion with his mother, Mei Xiang,

 

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during the ceremony outside the zoo's panda exhibit, as dignitaries from China offered their congratulations.

 

"The peoples of China and the United States are brought closer together by the happiness of this panda family," said Minister Zheng Zeguang, deputy chief of mission for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. "The 100th day is an important milestone in life. Let us hope that from this day on, Tai Shan will grow stronger and win the hearts of his American hosts."

 

 

"Tai Shan is a result of the love between the two giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian and also represents the great feeling between the American and Chinese people," Yan Xun, deputy director of the conservation department of the Peoples Republic of China, said through an interpreter.

 

 

Tai Shan was conceived by artificial insemination after zoo scientists determined that Mei Xiang and male panda Tian Tian did not successfully mate. The cub was born July 9.

 

 

Naming contest winner Rod Sallee of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, was selected from a random drawing of voters to get a private visit with the giant panda family.

 

 

The zoo does not plan to let the public see Tai Shan until December. However, the cub's progress is being documented online at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/. The site includes two live "panda cams," one of which showed mother and baby lolling on their backs at one point on Monday.

 

 

It also features updates on Tai Shan's progress. On Sunday, observers thought they saw the first sign of play when Tai Shan went nose to nose with Mei Xiang and then swatted her with his paw.

 

 

Not far from the panda exhibit, visitors could purchase Tai Shan T-shirts, and such other panda paraphernalia as plush dolls, backpacks, coffee mugs, tote bags, coin purses, Christmas tree ornaments and "Save the Pandas" wristbands.

 

 

The panda birth has been good news for the National Zoo, which has weathered a series of setbacks, notably the deaths of 48 large animals since 1998, including two red pandas, a lion and a zebra. An investigation by the National Research Council found problems with staff training, workplace culture and strategic planning.

 

 

One day before the panda-naming ceremony, the zoo euthanized a 2-year-old giraffe after weeks of treatment for complications associated with skin cancer.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18102005/80/washi...d-tai-shan.html

so so so cute!!! LOL

Edited October 20, 200520 yr by michael_jackson_lover