Tai Shan Oh, What a Glorious 100 Days It Has Been for the National
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Oh, what a glorious 100 days it has been for the National Zoo’s giant panda baby. And now To see live images of the cub and learn how you can help the pandas, check out that the cute little guy finally has a name — it www.nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas. Tai Shan means “peaceful mountain” — we thought it only appropriate that he have a photo album. PANDA CAM JULY 18 AUG. 1 AUG. 8 JULY 9, 3:41 a.m. Tian Tian, left, and Mei Xiang in I ARRIVE: My mom, Mei December 2000, just before they left Xiang (pronounced Wolong, China, for the United States. may SHONG), picks me up right away and cuddles me. Blind, hairless and weighing three to five ounces — that’s like two Snickers PINK AND PLUMP: My ears, NAPTIME: I actually look like a SECOND EXAM: I’m 2.6 bars — I depend on her shoulders and eye patches are panda now. When awake, I like to pounds (20 Snickers) and for everything. If she starting to darken. With my longer grunt — as many as 278 times in 14.2 inches long, two of falls asleep, I squeal. hair and pink, round belly, I look three hours! At my first exam, Aug. which are my tail. When I (Wouldn’t you?) like a guinea pig. 2, doctors learn that I’m a boy! squealed during this exam, Mom got upset. AUG. 30 SEPT. 1 SEPT. 18 Tai Shan’s Family Tree GRANDPARENTS YONG BA PAN PAN XUE XUE LIN NAN 1983* 1985* 1988* 1984* *Estimated birth year MEI XIANG PARENTS TIAN TIAN SEPT. 19 July 22, 1998 AUG. 27, 1997 I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW: CUDDLING: I weigh six pounds. WHY LEARN TO WALK?: Actually, I’m HEY, THAT TICKLES: Check Finally, my eyes are open. Mom weighs 235. I’m her first trying to walk (whenever Mom out my claws. My teeth are And I can roll over now, so cub. She could have as many as puts me down) but I’m still about to come through, so TAI SHAN I’m more squirmy. seven more. Yeah, siblings! teetery. When I fall, I bark. my bite will soon be as SOURCE: Wolong July 9, 2005 Nature Reserve strong as my bark. OCT. 4 BATH, ANYONE?: Mom keeps me HIS MAJESTY: That’s what they call OCT. 12 Cub in a Tub See how fast I’m growing: clean by licking me. I can now me at the zoo. I weigh a princely walk or crawl short distances. 12.7 pounds and I’m 25.5 inches ) But I get tired really fast. long (longer than this page!). Sixteen of my teeth are visible. 1.8 24 days old 24 days pounds Aug. 2 ( Aug. 12 inches long ) 4.2 SEPT. 30 WHEW: Getting a shot 40 days old 40 days pounds wears me out. Aug. 18 ( Aug. 17 inches long ) 9.6 72 days old 72 days pounds Sept. 19 ( 22.5 inches long ) 11.1 pounds 83 days old 83 days OCT. 17 STILL TO COME: In a few weeks I will be able to run and climb CALL ME TAI SHAN: About 200,000 a little and you may visit me. In my sixth month, I’ll begin eating solid food (bamboo leaves . YUM!) and my permanent teeth will start to Sept. 30 ( votes were cast in a contest to name me. (Did you vote?) Tai come in. When I’m a year old, I could weigh as much as 80 pounds. In the wild, cubs leave their moms at 18 to 24 months. In my case, when PHOTOS COURTESY SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO; 24.7 inches long Shan (pronounced tie shahn) got REPORTING BY MARYLOU TOUSIGNANT; about 88,000 votes. I’m 2 years old I am to be sent to China, where my parents were born. GRAPHIC BY BILL WEBSTER — THE WASHINGTON POST.