The Clarksdale Press Register from Clarksdale, Mississippi • 12

4B Saturday Sunday, April 10-11, 1982 THE CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER After 10 years, it's still 'panda-monium together during Ling-Ling's heat, Hsing-Hsing tried but fails to perform. Frustrated by the panda's inability to breed naturally, the National Zoo took a cue from the Chinese who have had good success with artificial insemination. The procedure went smoothly in 1980, but Ling-Ling did not conceive. The Zoo plans to continue its breeding efforts so that perhaps one day there will be a baby panda to perpetuate the species in Washington. But baby or no, the last decade has been an enriching experience for researchers and visitors alike at the National Zoo.

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing have provided hours of pleasure with their antics and acrobatics and, Larry Collins says, "We now have a much better ap-preciaton of panda abilities and capabilities." From their fist days in residence, says National Zoo director Dr. Theodore H. Reed, who accompanied the pandas on their trip to the United States a decade ago, the pandas created a standing love affair with droves of fascinated visitors. "That was 10 years ago," he smiles, "and things haven't settled down yet." i 1 tmrnmrnmum CLARKSDALE ELKS LODGE HWY. 322 CLARKSDALE, MS STEAK SUPPER SATURDAY, APRIL 10-7 P.M.

DANCE 9 p.m. MUSIC BY "SOUTHERN EDITION" MEMBERS AND GUESTS Nearly nuzzling noses are the National Zoo's stars, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling. By ANDI STEIN Smithsonian News Service It seems like only yesterday. Two green crates marked "Giant Panda" stood in the middle of the animal enclosures at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., as anxious Zoo officials waited expectantly. Suddenly, a fluffy ball "of black and white lumbered out of one crate.

Waddling around her pen, she excitedly sniffed the new surroundings, picked up her water dish, promptly turned it upside-down and plopped it on her head. Ling-Ling, a 36-pound, 2-year-old female giant panda who had just arrived from China, was making herself at home. Meanwhile, in the adjacent enclosure, there was silence from another large wooden box. After some time, a l-'- year-old male, Hsing-Hsing, cautiously emerged. He peered around his new home carefully, then beat a rapid retreat into his ean.

So it was that almost immediately after their arrival, outgoing Ling-Ling and shy Hsing-Hsing (pronounced Shing-Shing) had already demonstrated their distinctive personalities. That was 10 years ago, on April 16, 1972, when the two giant pandas took up residence in the National Zoo. Though they've changed through the decade, the personable Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing continue to attract and entertain millions of visitors. The pandas were a gift to the American people from the People's Republic of China on the occasion of President Nixon's trip there in 1972. As the first giant pandas to live in the United States since Mei-Lan, a male, died at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago in 1953.

Ling-Ling and Hs-ing Hsing offered a rare opportunity to learn about the care, behavior and breeding of these exotic creatures. Natives of China, giant pandas are not found in the wild outside of that country, and only a few zoos around the world currently exhibit them. Even within China, the panda's habitat is limited to what conservationist Vinzenz Ziswiler calls a "vegetational island" of bamboo the panda's principal food in the mountains of southwestern China. It is thought that only about 1,000 animals remain in the wild. From the sparse amount of panda literature available in 1972, Larry slimmed down to a trim 250 pounds, which seems to suit them well.

Over the years, the keepers have seen definite personality changes, although they don't know why. In the beginning, Ling-Ling was more lively and aggresive, the male rather meek and subdued. Today, the roles have almost reversed. Ling-Ling is often moody and aloof, while Hsing-Hsing has become an attention-loving ham. Their behavior patterns have been studied by Dr.

Devra Kleiman, head of the zoo's department of zoological research. Kleiman immediately initiated a "panda log," with a team of volunteers and keepers to monitor the daily and nocturnal activities of the creatures and record their behavior. From these observations, Kleiman learned about the panda' process of communicatng to each other by scent-marking, a way of staking out thier territories, and by "bleating" sheep-like vocalizations. The pandas are no longer watched around the clock, but Kleiman and her volunteers continue their nighttime and early morning vigils before and during the panda's spring breeding season, which can begin as early as the last week in March or as late as mid-May. Kleiman discovered that Ling-Ling only comes into estrus or heat once a year, not twice as was first believed.

Kleiman now quickly recognizes those certain signs that indicate when Ling-Ling is coming into heat she starts walking backwards, her appetite decreases, she scent-marks her den more than usual and bleats frequently. Kleiman's studies also revealed that there is only a 36-48 hour block of time when Ling-Ling can conceive. Zoo personnel are still not certain how to determine precisely when that time period actually begins. Partly because of this short, uncertain span for breeding, captive pandas have had a very low rate of reproduction. To date, fewer than 30 pandas have been born in captivity, with nearly all births occurring in China.

Not that zoo officials haven't tried repeatedly to breed Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. The pandas do get along well, Kleiman says, but Hsing-Hsing apparently has not learned the proper breeding posture. Whenever they've been put J.H. Johnson Co. Inc.

General Insurance Since 1894 All-Risk Federal Crop Insurance (DEADLINE APRIL 15) Collins, the first National Zoo curator responsible for the pandas, thought the animals would be dull-witted and uninterested their surroundings. He was soon surprised. "It was constantly a challenge to stay one step ahead of them," Collins ecalls. Soon after his arrival, shy, retiring Hsing Hsing became as rambunctious as his female counterpart. Both pandas reveled in ripping apart the bamboo planters in their enclosures, knocking over their water tubs and doing handstands in their dens.

"There were few dull moments around the panda house." Collins says. Even as youngsters, both animals were tremendously strong. One of the earliest problems was finding indestructible "toys" to amuse them. Collins thought the solution might be a basketball, specially designed, it was said, to withstand even a determined pands. But Ling-Ling quickly figured out how to sink her teeth into hers, turning the expensive plaything into a heap of deflated orange rubber.

In the summer, blocks of ice and tubs of water entertined the pandas. In the winter. Zoo staffers sometimes built snowmen for the animals. With one swift push of the paw, the figure toppled, rewarding the panda with the snowman's "nose" a carrot. Learning the needs of the two lovable creatures was often a matter of trial and error.

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing liked to sleep most of the day, to the dismay of visitors who often came long distances only to find them curled up and snoozing. At first, Collins say, the staff thought they were nocturnal animals, but a round-the-clock "panda watch" revealed that the animals are active both in the early morning and early evening. Then there was their diet. The Chinese had recommended a basic meal of bamboo stalks, carrots, apples and rice gruel. To this the Zoo added powdered cottage cheese, vitamin and mineral supplements and even a dog biscuit, which Collins thought would be good for their teeth.

But as the pandas flourished on this hearty fare, they also gained weight rapidly, soon reaching nearly 300 pounds. By this time, they appeared sluggish and moved clumsily around their enclosures. The overweight animals were put on a diet; by eating less, they eventually 118 THIRD ST. PH. 624-6571 NOW SHOWING: 7 9 P.M.

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