It has been a little over six months since Tai Shan the panda left the National Zoo and returned to China. According to this update his Chinese keepers have had to rid him of his slothful western ways.
What these stories don't take into account is that Tai suffered for at least two years from a recurring digestive disorder that slowed his weight gain. The National Zoo's veterinarians, in consultation with Chinese colleagues, eventually were able to get the condition under control. Tai was always an active young bear -- running, climbing trees, rolling down hills, the very opposite of lazy -- and the NZ always provided him with as much food as he wanted. He was NEVER deprived of adequate food at the National Zoo.
Puny and Decadent American-Bred Panda Is Being Retrained to Chinese Standards
What these stories don't take into account is that Tai suffered for at least two years from a recurring digestive disorder that slowed his weight gain. The National Zoo's veterinarians, in consultation with Chinese colleagues, eventually were able to get the condition under control. Tai was always an active young bear -- running, climbing trees, rolling down hills, the very opposite of lazy -- and the NZ always provided him with as much food as he wanted. He was NEVER deprived of adequate food at the National Zoo.
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