panda news stories on Newser

World's Priciest Tea Made Using Truly Gross Ingredient

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:18:05 CST

If you thought the world's most expensive coffee was disgustingly weird, you haven't seen anything yet: A wildlife expert in China is trying to make the world's priciest tea. The costly ingredient? Panda poop. An Yanshi plans to use the feces he has collected from a panda breeding center in...

Meet Atlanta's Baby Giant Panda

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:40:06 CST

About one month old, a new giant panda cub at Zoo Atlanta is still smaller than a house cat, but he is healthy and growing fast, veterinarians said yesterday after a weekly medical exam. The cub, who will be named when he is 100 days old following Chinese tradition, will...

China-Japan Relations Strained By ...Dead Panda?

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:35:53 CDT

The death of a panda is worsening already-strained diplomatic relations between China and Japan. China loaned Xing Xing, a 14-year-old male, to a Japanese zoo, and he died last week after being anesthetized so zoo workers could collect his sperm for use in artificial insemination. Chinese officials believe the animal...

Beloved Panda Killed by Accidental Gassing: China

Nick McMaster — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:42:13 CDT

The death of one of China's most beloved panda bears has been blamed on poison gas resulting from a careless cleaning operation at the Jinan Zoo, the LA TImes reports. Quan Quan, a 21-year-old panda who'd given birth to 7 cubs, inhaled carbon monoxide and chlorine, both of which were...

Mama Panda Crushes Baby

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:28:00 CDT

The birth of twin pandas at the Beijing Zoo last week gave way to tragedy when the mother abandoned one and accidentally killed the other. Eight-year-old Yinghua delivered two female cubs, but “twins are rare and all mothers take only the first cub as their own,” the zoo president tells...

DC Panda's Pregnancy a Fake

Rob Quinn — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:00:40 CDT

Mei Xiang's latest pregnancy has turned out to be another fake, disappointed zookeepers at the National Zoo say. The panda showed all the signs of pregnancy—including elevated hormone levels, building bamboo nests, and cradling objects as if they were cubs—but tests have revealed that she isn't really pregnant,...

Chinese Automaker 'Adopts' Panda Tai Shan

Nick McMaster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:14:00 CST

Giant panda Tai Shan arrived in China today after nearly 5 years in Washington, DC, and found a nice surprise waiting for him: a corporate sponsorship. Sichuan Auto Industry Group will pay $150,000 for a lifelong claim to Tai Shan, along with $90,000 annually for his food and...

National Zoo's Panda Cub Heads to China

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:10:46 CST

Washington will bid its favorite panda adieu on Feb. 4, when Tai Shan leaves for China to breed, accompanied by Zoo Atlanta's Mei Lan. “It's like sending off your own child to college,” Tai Shan's fan club founder tells the Post , adding that fan club members have raised $10,000...

Panda Moms Worn Out By Baby Boom

Rob Quinn — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:45:33 CST

The breeding program at China's Chengdu panda institute has produced just four pandas this year. Researchers say the panda mothers are mostly too exhausted to conceive more babies after last year's record 18 births, the Times of London reports. This year's births included twins Wen Li and Ya L, born...