2007-09-27, Baby Red Panda - 小熊猫（在线收听）

Farley is more than just cute, he is a fighter.

When he was born, his mother, a first time mom wasn't around to take care of him. Keepers found him just hours after birth. Cold, dirty and hungry.

"When we first got our look at Farley, we were mostly concerned about two things: his early poor nutrition, he had not been fed by the mother, and the fact that he was hypothermic or had a low body temperature."

Although nursery keepers here had never hand raised a red panda before, it didn't take long to settle on a successful formula. That's enough, that's enough, hold on." It's a little challenging, uh...still a little nerve-racking, but he is doing well, we're very pleased with his progress so far, everything seems to be doing well, and we are just keeping our fingers crossed."

But Farley's problems weren't over just yet. At only three weeks, his once voracious appetite began to shrink and his breathing became heavy. Keepers rushed him to the zoo's hospital." He had a very advanced and very severe infection going on inside of his body. And that he was indeed struggling for life." For a while, it was touch-and-go. The massive infection required weeks of heavy antibiotics and regular tube feedings. Soon, Farley was well enough to move back to his home at the nursery and ready to take the next step.

The stage right now is just to try to get him to be a better climber. He is doing well, really well exploring." What he needed next in life was at the Rosamond Gifford zoo, in Syracuse, New York, another hand-raised red panda, named Banchi. "It's very important for red pandas as youngsters to have playmates, um, so that they don't bond so completely with human beings. As you could see, they are really really active and they really like each other's company, and they like to play and sleep together now."

"I think that the essential thing about Farley that sets him apart is his struggle was very difficult, he never lost his will to survive and the personality that emerged from those struggles was one that was surprisingly affectionate and playful and he was just a great guy."
  原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/guojiadili/57599.html