Life is cruel and brutal, I guess.
Ya Ya, a seven-year-old panda and new mother of twins, "appeared tired" when nursing the younger cub in a patch of grass, the paper said.
Her head sagged, her paws separated and her baby fell to the ground next to her. The panda then rolled on to her side and crushed her baby beneath her.
I remember that chronic exhaustion when our kids were piping hot and fresh from the uterus, too.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
That's a lot of Panda:
A giant panda in China has given birth to the heaviest cub born in captivity after the longest period in labor and elsewhere twin pandas each gave birth to twins, Xinhua news agency reported.
Six-year-old Zhang Ka delivered the baby on Monday at the Wolong Giant Panda…
New-born twin giant pandas made their media debut at a zoo in Japan on Friday. The twins, one male and one female, were born on August 11 to mother Rauhin and father Eimei, by artificial insemination. (video via BBC News)
Elite Northeastern private college tuition and fees (1989-1993): ~$80,000
Gold class ring from elite Northeastern private college: ~$500
Colorful Rainbow Loom bracelet from your seven-year-old daughter: Priceless.
My right hand.
SteelyKid made this bracelet the other day at her after-school day…
tags: Gerry Ellis, WoLong Nature Preserve, Ultimate Pandas, Giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, nature filming, endangered species, DVD review
Everyone loves pandas, right? In fact, these lovable bears are the most recognizable icons worldwide for endangered species, even while remaining…
I don't think any species gets to say that unless their struggle for survival against predators starts in the womb.
It's not limited to just a few carnivorous species - in most species the biological interests of parents are significantly different than the offspring's interests, so Parent-offspring conflict is pervasive. Both behavioral and chemical tactics are deployed - the article mentions the presence of benzodiazepines in breast milk - it's a minor tranquilizer (new parents might want to use nature's hint).
I'd presume Ya-ya just goofed (but how common ARE twins among pandas?)
Twin births are fairly common; however, in the wild, one of the twins is typically abandoned to die. In captivity, they try to save both twins, with some success.
"they" being the wildlife rehabbers, not the pandas, in this sentence.
Isn't this generally called "the heir and the spare"?
Mother has two, when one proves to do significantly better than the other the weaker of the pair is killed or abandoned to better the mother and stronger sibling's chance of survival.