Baby red panda adopted by house cat dies

updated 11:29 a.m. ET July 18, 2008

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Amsterdam's Artis zoo says a baby red panda adopted by a zookeeper's cat after being rejected by its mother has died.

The zoo says an autopsy on the tiny panda found its windpipe filled with milk, indicating it choked to death. The zoo had hoped the panda would be able to suckle from the cat for three months before moving onto a diet of bamboo and fruit.

The tabby cat came to the cub's rescue July 1 after it was spurned by its mother. A second cub died shortly after the cubs' birth on June 30.

In a message on its Web site Friday, the zoo says the cub was healthy until its unexpected death Thursday. The rest of its adoptive family — the tabby and her four kittens — are in good condition.

MORE FROM SCIENCE

Science Section Front

Tiny insect brains can solve big problems Cosmic Log: The bird vs. the Big Bang Machine Future of evolution: What will we become? Good news! NASA says world won’t end in 2012 Top 10 doomsday predictions that failed Friday the 13th: Your luck is about to change Humans still evolving as our brains shrink India to move all zoo elephants to wildlife parks Super-sniffing bees combat colony pest Power cut during heat wave shuts Australian zoo Science Section Front   Add Science headlines to your news reader: