We're sad to report that the newest (and possibly most adorable) addition to the National Zoo passed away over the weekend. The 6-day-old panda cub's death is a devastating loss, especially because her mother Mei Xiang had been trying for six years to conceive.
The cub had liver abnormalities and fluid in its stomach, but zoo officials say the exact cause of death won't be revealed until test results come in. According to authorities, prior to its death, the cub appeared to be in good health and was drinking its mother's milk.
We can't imagine a world without these creatures, but recent studies show that they might be extinct in 70 years. (Yikes.) Check out these five facts about pandas:
- Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.
- Giant pandas once lived in lowland areas; however, farming, forest clearing, and other development now confine giant pandas to the mountains.
- About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long.
- The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species. There are only 1,600 left in the wild.
- More than 300 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers, mostly in China.
Host a 5k run to help save endangered animals. GO
