Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Bei Bei, the panda cub at the National Zoo, opened his eyes for the first time this week.
Laurie Thompson, a panda biologist at the zoo said that panda keepers will slowly expose Bei Bei’s eyes to light by graudally lighting up the den that he currently shares with his mother, Mei Xiang.
“I don’t know if its the same range as us but they have done tests on pandas to know that they do see in color,” she said.
Pandas also don’t rely as much on sight as humans do. They prefer to detect things by smell.
“Their vision is okay but it’s not as good as another animal that would hunt by sight or something like that.”
Bei Bei already recognizes his mother by her smell, and once his hearing improves he’ll be able to tell when she’s entering and leaving the den.
He currently weights 4.5 pounds and continues to grow.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: National Zoo)
