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Atlanta's month-old panda opens eyes
Zoo officials made the discovery during a physical
 | In this photo released by Zoo Atlanta, the giant panda Lun Lun cares for her cub after its second health check on Oct. 5, 2006, at the zoo in Atlanta. The baby panda opened it eyes for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 12. |
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 | Pandas’ new digs Oct. 12: American Zoo Association’s Don Linburg talks to MSNBC-TV’s Chris Jansing about the National Zoo’s giant pandas’ new 12,000 foot Asia Trail exhibit. MSNBC |
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ATLANTA - Zoo Atlanta's baby panda opened it eyes for the first time on Thursday.
Zoo officials made the discovery during a physical examination of the 36-day-old unnamed female cub.
"She's probably able to see now," said zoo veterinarian Dr. Maria Crane. "We noticed she's paying more attention to her environment."
Crane said it's hard to know how much Lun Lun's cub is actually seeing. The newborn appeared slightly startled at one point during her checkup when she noticed staff intently watching her.
The cub, whose name will be chosen in two months, has grown a little more than 16 inches in length in the past week and gained just under a pound, growing to 3.8 pounds.
"She's a very solid cub," Crane said. "Her growth is nice and steady, and that's really a testament to how well Lun Lun is taking care of her."
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