Panda mother, cub die at zoo in China

A 21-year-old giant panda mother and her six-month-old cub died of different diseases at a Shanghai zoo last month, authorities said today.
The mother Guo Guo suffered acute pancreatitis, and her daughter Hua Sheng suffered severe bowel and intestinal problems,the Shanghai Wild Animal Park said.
Guo Guo and Hua Sheng fell ill on December 19 and 23 respectively, and died on December 26 and 31, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.
The mother was quarantined for treatment on December 19 shortly after she showed symptoms of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache and discharged intestinal mucus.
Her situation turned critical on December 22 when she began to suffer convulsions.

Hua Sheng was taken away from her mother and bottle fed after her mother fell ill, but started showing symptoms of vomiting, stomachache and discharged intestinal mucus four days later.

On December 29, Hua Sheng had surgery, eliminating more than 80 centimeters of her intestine, after a CT scan found she had advanced bowel and intestinal problems.
However, she did not survive long.
Two veterinarians and a breeder from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda helped treat the pandas.
Samples from the pandas have been sent to researchers in Shanghai and Changchun cities, as well as Sichuan Province, the giant panda's natural habitat, to figure out how and why they became ill.