Zoo's panda cub starts to open eyes
Eye-opening can take around three weeks to finish
The panda cub at the San Diego Zoo is starting to take a peek at the great, big world around him. During an exam on Wednesday morning, animal care staff could see the cub's eyes beginning to open.
(Photo courtesy: Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo)
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Posted: 09/13/2012
Last Updated:
251 days ago
SAN DIEGO -
The 45-day-old giant panda cub at the San Diego Zoo is beginning to open his eyes, park officials announced Wednesday.
The eye-opening, which can take around three weeks to complete, was noticed at the unnamed cub's weekly veterinary examination. The timing of the process is correct, according to the zoo.
The cub's ears began opening last week.
He now weighs 4 pounds and is a little over 16 inches long. Last week, he weighed 3.2 pounds.
The cub is the sixth offspring of Bai Yun. The giant pandas are on loan to U.S. zoos for research purposes from China, and their native country can request that cubs be returned after their third birthday.
The species is considered endangered, with an estimated 1,600 left in the wild.
Beginning Monday, the zoo will take suggestions for a name of the cub on its website, sandiegozoo.org. Names that are suggested have to be in Chinese, with an explanation of their significance.
Copyright 2012 by City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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