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                  US Zoo: Mother Panda Prefers Larger Twin Cub

   by VOA News

   Just a few days after two giant panda cubs were born at the Smithsonian
   National Zoo in Washington, officials say they're concerned the larger
   twin is getting the vast majority of their mother's attention.

   The smaller cub is on antibiotics and being bottle-fed, zookeepers say.

   The newborn pandas -- tiny, blind and nearly hairless -- are completely
   dependent on their mother.

   In the smaller twin's case, a human "panda team" is playing a maternal
   role as Mei Xiang has been unwilling to swap the larger cub to care for
   the smaller one since Monday afternoon.

   Mei Xiang has been a star tourist draw ever since the zoo announced she
   was showing signs of being pregnant again.

   The 17-year-old mom is also the mother of two-year-old Bao Bao, who
   celebrated her birthday one day after the birth of her siblings.

   Pandas give birth to the smallest babies, relative to the size of the
   mothers, of any mammal that does not lay eggs or carry its young in a
   pouch.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/mother-panda-prefers-larger-twin-cub/
   2933431.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/mother-panda-prefers-larger-twin-cub/2933431.html