Tiny Panda Cub Dies at Washington Zoo

The tiny, 4-day-old panda cub that would have been the first of the rare species successfully bred in captivity in the United States died during the night Friday at National Zoo, officials announced Saturday.

“We have heartbreaking news,” zoo collection manager Lisa Stevens said at a news conference, when she announced that the cub--the offspring of the two famous pandas donated by China in 1972--died of respiratory arrest after an infection.

Curators Had Been Optimistic

The death came as curators were expressing optimism that the five-ounce female had survived the most critical period after birth. Born on Tuesday, it had lived longer than any of the other cubs produced by the female Ling-Ling and male Hsing-Hsing, the only two giant pandas in a permanent collection in this country. Its male twin was stillborn, and two other cubs born in 1982 and 1983 had died at or shortly after birth.

“We feel we did just about everything we could to ensure that the mother and the cub would do as well as possible, but nature has a way of taking things into her own hands,” zoo spokesman Robert Hoage said.

Possibly Peritonitis

Dr. Richard Montali, head of pathology for the zoo, said a preliminary autopsy showed that an infection, possibly peritonitis, caused the cub’s lungs and abdominal cavity to fill with fluid. Further test results on the cause of death will not be available for several days, he said.

The tiny female cub had appeared healthy and active after its birth, squealing audibly as its mother nursed and cuddled it. Zoo officials who monitored the 245-pound mother and infant by closed-circuit television said they became concerned just before midnight Friday when Ling-Ling put the cub down and walked away, and the infant made no movements or sounds.

At about 12:05 a.m. Saturday, the mother picked up the cub and began to cradle and lick it, but it remained silent. After more than an hour passed without a sign of life from the cub, zookeepers said, they let Ling-Ling into an outdoor enclosure and retrieved the cub, which was dead.

Curators said they hope Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing will mate again next year. They said the mother was exhibiting “normal” behavior after the death.

“We’re all very sad, but we’re going to try again,” Stevens said. “We’re going to look forward to next year.”