This much cuteness should be illegal
Quote: September 8: At Fifth Exam, Cub Weighs 7.5 Pounds
We did our fifth cub exam this morning. The cub received his first distemper vaccination. He did not even react to the injection, although right afterward he softly vocalized, sort of a high, soft, trill. He weighs 7.5 pounds, 1.3 pounds more than he weighed at his last exam, on August 30. His total length was 21 1/4 inches, and his body length (from the base of the skull to the head of the tail) was 12 inches, two inches longer than it was on August 30. He was calm throughout the 16-minute exam. He definitely prefers to lie flat on his belly. He did pushups and tried to crawl on the table, and he was able to lift himself on his hind legs, too. We can now feel the little buds of his teeth just under the gums-very cute! He has gotten a lot stronger since his last exam. See how he's grown.
Mei Xiang came out into the scale area this morning and weighed 227 pounds. She then went into one of the yards for 26 minutes. She wandered throughout the yard exploring and went into the grotto. Mei again allowed us to clean and place food in her indoor exhibit areas while she was away from the cub. She is definitely acting like the old Mei Xiang.
September 9: Cub Tries to Walk
Mei Xiang remained calm throughout yesterday's cub examination. When the door to the den opened she returned to him cautiously, sniffing where we had been inside the den. When she bent down to sniff him she snorted loudly, as though she was surprised. She then picked him up and groomed him. You would think that we had rolled him in dirt! The cub gets the benefit of a good tongue washing after these exams. Giant pandas communicate with each other by placing scent marks throughout their overlapping home ranges or exhibit enclosures. These scent marks communicate individual information like sex and breeding status. We wonder what she knows about us based on our scents.
After yesterday's exam and vaccination, the cub was seen trying to stand and walk several times. We do not expect him to be able to take a few steps for two or three weeks. At one point he put a lot of effort into some forward movement by lunging forward from a very wobbly standing position. He barked loudly as he lost his balance, but Mei ignored him.
September 11: Mei Leaves Cub for Longer Periods of Time
Mei Xiang spent six hours away from her cub yesterday. She ate and rested in the two exhibit enclosures adjacent to the den, and went outside and wandered about briefly. She was also very responsive to the keepers and went into the training cage.
While mom is away, the cub mostly rests or sleeps, with the occasional yawn or stretch, and doesn't seem upset by her absence. The cub remains quiet and doesn't vocalize at all. At this point, a mother panda in the wild would also be leaving her cub for increasingly long times each day to forage for bamboo. The best strategy for the cub is to be quiet so as not to attract potential predators.