Posted on 07/10/2008 2:57:38 PM PDT by knighthawk
A domestic cat living in Amsterdam's Artis zoo has adopted a baby red panda and is suckling it together with her four kittens. The panda came from a nest of two, both of whom were rejected by their mother, Gladys, and is doing well. The other did not survive.
Initially, Gladys appeared to accept her offspring, but one day after their birth on 30 June, zoo workers found both deserted in a flowerbed.
A zoo representative says that this is the first time a domestic cat has been known to take over the nursing of a baby panda. The red panda is listed as an endangered species and is endemic to the Himalayas in Bhutan, southern China, India, Laos, Nepal, and Burma. When fully grown, red pandas, which look like raccoons, are slightly larger than domestic cats.
Ping
“Meow Ming”?
A red baby panda, which was abandoned by its mother at birth at Amsterdam's Artis zoo, feeds on July 3, after it was adopted by a domestic cat, which just had four kittens. Red pandas are an endangered species and part of a specialized breeding scheme. (AFP/ANP/File/Artis)
Baby Red Panda... Isn’t it a little young to be calling it a Commie? /jk
Gladys is the new poster child for Planned Parenthood.
I’ve heard that Pandas are notoriously bad mothers. They often don’t want to deal with raising a child so they just ignore it. They usually just have one at a time and on the rare occasion they have two, they will almost certainly dump one of them.
He won't become a capitalist until his eyes are open.
All I can see is a tangle of fur.
It’s biblical...
” and then red pandas will lay with tabby cats”
Funny that they don’t give the name of the heroic kitty that took the little one in. Only the name of the mother who abandoned it. Ah, well, what can one expect. It’s Norway.
My apologies to Norway, it is the Netherlands. Not much difference.
ping
I had a friend whose horse died giving birth, so the foal was nursed by a goat.
It didn't take too long before the foal was bigger than the goat, but it was still quite young and not ready to be weaned, so the goat would climb up on a table so the foal could nurse. It was a pretty funny sight.
Pandas get WAY bigger than house cats...
To answer my own question: I see from reading the article more carefully ( ahem !) that they are about the same size as house cats when grown, so I guess my question is answered. /shame
CUTE FIX PING
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.