Baby Pandas Vie For U.S. Stardom

Panda-monium is breaking out on both coasts.

The San Diego Zoo has a baby panda. So does the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Infant pandas are so rare that this is the first time both U.S. coasts have had one at the same time. And that, reports Hattie Kauffman, is leading to some friendly inter-zoo rivalry.

San Diego's latest triumph is now a strapping 3-month-old, and her official Chinese name is to be announced Thursday. As happened in Washington, the San Diego cub's name was picked via a vote on the facility's Web site. The San Diego Zoo says 70,000 people voted online to choose the name.

Whatever you call her, says Kauffman, she is evidence of the zoo's enormous success.

"This is so exciting," says Dan Lindburg, the director of the zoo's Giant Panda Conservation Division.

Three pandas have been born there in recent years, making the San Diego Zoo the U.S. leader in such births.

"The first was by artificial insemination," Lindburg says, "but we now have a very nice male. He's sort of clued in on what he's supposed to do around here."

"So, he's the stud?" Kauffman asks.

"He's the stud," Lindburg replies.

The baby panda debuting at the National Zoo is named Tai Shan, which means "peaceful mountain" in Chinese.

Suzan Murray, the National Zoo's chief veterinarian, says, "Tai Shan has gotten a lot of media (attention) because he's adorable, charismatic. … There's a lot that's special about Tai Shan."

Most special, Kauffman says, is that he's the first panda cub born at the National Zoo to survive more than just a few weeks.

Over the decades, that facility has had a long history of pandas that didn't produce. Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing just don't seem interested.

So, Tai Shan's birth was cause to celebrate.

But almost immediately after Tai Shan came along, says Kauffman, the San Diego Zoo seemed to steal the thunder.

"Which zoo has the cutest baby panda?" Kauffman asks Dallas Dumont, a San Diego zookeeper.

"Well, of course, I'm going to say San Diego does because I'm biased toward our baby pandas," says Dumont.

Now, zoo visitors have a choice of pandas to put on their must-see list.

Asked in San Diego by Kauffman whether they'd prefer to see San Diego's or Washington's, a British tourist said: "We knew the San Diego Zoo was among the best in the world, so we made a point of coming here."

Back in Washington, young Samantha Weate tells Kauffman, "I'd rather see the Washington panda. I've never seen a panda before, and we live here."

Whichever cub you decide to visit, you have only about two years to do it. After that, Kauffman says, both cubs will be sent to China because the parents are on loan and the babies have to go back with them.

"These animals are on the brink of extinction," says San Diego's Dumont, "so any zoo in the U.S. that can help with that cause, all you're doing is ensuring the survival of this species for future generations, and that's the bottom line."

On that, both zoos agree.

"We rely on each other to do the best that we can for pandas," says Washington's Murray, "and every time we get a new baby on the ground, there's just a collective cheer. We're very proud to work with each other."

"Unless you're a zoo keeper, you may not know just how thrilling, how rare it is to have a live baby giant panda," Kauffman says to San Diego's Lindburg.

He agreed, saying, "I think, for the keepers, it turns into something more like love, eventually."

It's expected that both pandas will be put on public display next month.

Adding to the excitement, twin baby pandas were born in a zoo in China's Sichuan province this summer.