US zoo responds to ‘ill-treating of panda’ by Chinese netizens
The China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center responded to claims that a giant panda had been abused by a Washington zoo, assuring the public that it maintains close contact with its US counterpart in response to concerns that the panda hadn’t eaten for days.
“Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington has monitored and cared for the giant panda Mei Xiang in accordance with the requirements of the panda center with close monitoring of its behavior around the clock,” the research center said on its official Weibo account on Thursday.
The center’s remarks come in response to some Chinese netizens’ claims that a zoo in Washington failed to take care of a giant panda named Mei Xiang, noticing that she hadn’t eaten after giving birth, and that she had been living in a sm small den as shown in the vide video broadcast.
“With respect to Mei Xiang’s pause in eating, this behavior is normal,” a person with Smithsoni ian’s National Zoo told t the Global Times on Fr Friday. “When bears give bir birth in the wild, the mother ers spend several months denned up with their cubs. During this time, their focus remains nurturing and protecting their cubs, rather than eating. Scientists have observed that giant panda mothers in the wild can go without eating or drinking for up to one month,” they explained.
Mei Xiang gave birth to her fourth cub at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington D.C. on August 22. At 22 years old, Mei Xiang is the oldest giant panda to give birth in the US, according to the zoo.
However, Mei Xiang has shown limited interest in eating since she gave birth, netizens observed.
In response to netizens’ concerns about the treatment and living condition in Washington zoo, the Chinese panda center said that most female pandas start to eat a small amount of bamboo leaves roughly 5 days after they give birth, however, personal preferences vary from panda to panda.
It is not unusual for Mei Xiang to refrain from eating for this length of time after birth. When her last cubs — Bei Bei and Baobao — were born, she didn’t take her first bite of bamboo until 11 days after, the panda center said.