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Baby Panda Crushed to Death at Beijing Zoo


A happy event has turned to tragedy at the Beijing Zoo, where officials say a giant panda accidentally crushed and killed her newborn cub.

The cub was one of two born Friday to 8-year-old mother Yinghua. But in what zookeepers say is normal panda behavior, Yinghua abandoned one of the cubs, which has been removed to an incubator in Sichuan province.

Xinhua news agency quoted zoo official Zhang Jingguo saying the mother was looking for the remaining cub in order to nurse it when she rolled over and crushed it early Saturday. He said pandas are known for their poor eyesight.

Pandas are among the world's most endangered species, with only about 300 living in captivity and 1,600 in the wild. The Beijing Zoo has seven pandas.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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