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.
More like this
tags: rape prevention, activism, crime,
We're not supposed to pick favorites among our patients, but I have one. We'll call her Brenda.
Yesterday, after reading all your comments on my last post, and contemplating the sheer inanity of having so little evening time to myself (and my work and the housework...), I decided that we would try a new course with Minnow.
Everyone says "encourage your daughters to stick with math and science". And you want to do it. You're proud of your daughter, you want her to have every option in the world open to her. But what do you do when she resists?
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.