Giant Panda Cub Dies One Week after Birth

The giant panda cub born at Washington D.C’s National Zoo just one week ago died on Sunday. Zoo director, Dennis Kelly spoke of the tragedy at a news conference confirming the news: "This is devastating for all of us here. It's hard to describe how much passion and energy and thought and care has gone into this. We've got a terrific team that has worked so hard, I'm so confident, so proud of the staff, the volunteers, the scientists, and the work that our Chinese colleagues put into this. It is devastating; it's going to take us time," The exact cause of the baby panda’s death is yet to be determined; zoo officials said the cub weighed 3.5 ounces and was in good health, showing no outward signs of trauma or infection. The cub’s death was discovered on Sunday morning after panda keepers and zoo volunteers heard a distress vocalization from its mother Mei Xiang.