Baby pandas die from maternal pressure

An ill-fated baby panda died yesterday in China due to a huge maternal burden. The mother, after two days of staying awake, fell down because she was sleepy and crushed the 2-day-old child she was taking care of.

Ya Ya, a panda girl at Chongqing Zoo, gave birth to twins. One of the two children was transferred to the Wolong Panda Research Center, because the mother panda often cannot take care of two children at the same time. The second child is nourished by her mother.

The newborn baby panda weighs only 1 / 900th of his mother's body weight (85 to 142 grams), and is like a pink avocado. When pressing on the child, the 16-year-old mother Ya Ya crushed her heart, lungs and other organs.

The nurturer discovered this when he saw the baby bear immobilized in front of the breast.

Carmi Penny, animal manager at San Diego Zoo, explains the tragedies like Ya Ya's are not rare in the world of pandas or other species, including domestic dogs.

Ya Ya and newly born baby panda (Photo: liu.edu)

"The size difference between mother and baby pandas is huge. The only species with a smaller weight-to-mother ratio can only be marsupials, such as kangaroo , " Penny said.

"Therefore, the risk of child death is very high in the hours and days after birth. And for mothers who have not experienced or given birth for the first time, this risk is even greater."

Zoo officials separated the baby bear while Ya Ya slept. They said the mother panda had been searching for her after waking and then falling into a state of depression.

In nature, pandas often depend entirely on their mothers for the first few months of life. Baby bears usually live with their mothers for about 1.5 years, until the mother becomes pregnant again.