USA: Necropsy results reveal that lung and liver damage caused the death of a panda cub a week after its much celebrated birth at Washington's National Zoo, officials say

Record ID: 868233

  • Title: USA: Necropsy results reveal that lung and liver damage caused the death of a panda cub a week after its much celebrated birth at Washington's National Zoo, officials say
  • Date: 12th October 2012
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) FEMALE GIANT PANDA MEI XIANG EATING BAMBOO INDOORS
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2012 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABOY8JUQ7E2I8OKFA7ZLF1WNVA
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  • Story Text: The giant panda cub that died at the National Zoo in Washington last month succumbed to liver disease caused by inadequately formed lungs, officials said on Thursday (October 11), releasing findings they hope will help them learn more about breeding the endangered black and white bears.
    The cub, born on September 16, died when it was six days old in an agonizing blow to wildlife conservation efforts.
    Veterinarian Suzan Murray of the National Zoo said officials were unsure why the cub's lungs failed to form properly, but said the scientific community hopes to learn more about the causes of death in giant panda cubs.
    "The pattern of cell death within the liver was most likely caused by an anoxic event meaning not enough oxygen was getting to the liver. This is mostly due to the lungs that were not fully formed that were impeding the proper absorption of oxygen which then led to the death of the liver cells," Murray told reporters at a press conference at the zoo."
    Murray said the cub's mother, Mei Xiang, who gave birth after years of failed efforts at conception, at age 14 could be nearing the end of her cub-bearing years. But Murray did not write off the possibility Mei Xiang could again give birth.
    Don Moore, an animal behaviorist at the National Zoo, said the mother's behavior was slowly returning to normal. He said she was still down about 20 pounds (9 kilograms) from her usual 240 pound (109 kg) weight.
    "Mei Xiang is looking almost normal to us at this point. She has started eating almost 80% of her bamboo and the same in her biscuits and fruits and vegetables. She has been choosing for a while now to go outside of the den and into her exhibit for up to a couple of hours a day and that's her choice and we are working with her on that," Moore said.
    The cub's death on September 23 was discovered after panda keepers and zoo volunteers heard a distress sound from Mei Xiang. The zoo's staff failed to revive the cub with lifesaving measures, including CPR.
    Since then, zoo officials have been closely monitoring Mei Xiang, who spent a couple of weeks cradling a rubber toy as if it were a cub.
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