熊貓"寶寶"斷奶獨立,美網民肝腸寸斷

Bao Bao has graduated from a panda cub to a juvenile panda! CBS:This morning has been following Bao Bao's progress and aired a story chronicling the transition today.

寶寶已經從熊貓寶寶變成熊貓少女啦！CBS今天的晨間新聞回顧了寶寶的成長曆程並記錄了這次重要的轉變。

In the wild pandas separate from their mothers around 18 months old—exactly Bao Bao's age. Keepers have been closely following the signs that mother and cub were ready to separate for months. They saw Mei Xiang actively discourage Bao Bao from nursing, and spending more time away from her, which was expected as a female in the wild would be preparing to breed again. As these signs became more pronounced, they prepared for the final transition, and even spent nights in the panda house to make it as smooth as possible. Bao Bao now lives in her own area of the giant panda habitat, eats significantly more bamboo and solid foods (like sweet potato), and is mastering training behaviors just like her parents.

在野外，熊貓會在18個月大左右離開他們的母親——也就是寶寶現在的年紀。飼養員們在幾個月前開始仔細觀察熊貓媽媽和寶寶準備分開的跡象。他們發現美香明顯開始阻擋寶寶喝奶的請求，並且更多時候不搭理她，這在野外會被視爲雌性熊貓準備再度繁育了，隨着這些跡象越發明顯，他們就會爲最後的過渡做準備，甚至整夜呆在熊貓房裏，讓熊貓們能夠儘量平穩地渡過這段時期。寶寶現在生活在她自己的地盤裏，明顯開始吃更多竹子和固體食物（比如甘薯），這表明她已逐漸掌握與父母類似的訓練行爲。

We know that as humans it can be hard to watch a mother and cub separate, but pandas are solitary anim s in the wild. In order for Bao Bao to continue to thrive and become an important member of the giant panda population in human care, weaning is a natural and necessary process. We'll be sure to keep you update d on Bao Bao and Mei Xiang's progress!

我們都明白，目睹母子分離是件很難受的事情，但是熊貓在野外本是獨居動物,爲了寶寶壯成長,成爲圈養大熊貓家族的重要一員，斷奶是一個自然且必須的過程。我們也將會繼續更新寶寶和美香的進一步情況。