Aug 6, 2007

Babies on the Brain

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. My wife just gave birth to our son, so I've been away from the ol' computer. But have no fear, I'll get all caught up on my daily entries.

Since I have babies on the brain, I thought I'd share a photo from this Reuters article. You're looking at a set of panda twins, fresh from a research center in southwest China. You may not know this, but panda breeding is very difficult. Females only ovulate once a year, within about a 24 - 48 hour window. Combine that with encroachment into their territory, and you have a recipe for extinction.

Thanks for the link, Jared.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats, hon! No worries about the lack of updates--UgO can take a backseat to Diaper Overload! ;-)

--TwoDragons

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure they actually qualify as 'ugly.' Maybe if their hair was removed...

Becky in Iowa :O) said...

Congrats on the kidlet.

Love the blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Bears in general are rather ugly when they are first born. But they cute up so fast. Two panda babeh's... they are a double dose of 'ugh'.

Grats on the babeh! Welcome to dad-hood.
~Kit

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Hope Mom and baby are doing well!

Arachnophile said...

CONGRATS, our Great and Wonderful Wombat KING. ;)

It is understandable that you are MORE than a LEETLE bit preoccupied with baby-stuff right now.

Certainly, panda bee-bays were a perfect choice in the interim.

Panda pups are both hopelessly HELPLESS (i.e. CUTE) vs. really, REALLY, HORRIBLY UGLY, at the same time.

They take months to even look like a placental mammals.

Thank You for sharing your life with US!

Anonymous said...

The little one on the left looks like it's shouting, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" in response to a threatening mirror.

Congratulations on your own little one! :) Thanks for Ugly Overload so far and long may the uglies continue!

Anonymous said...

Hey!! Congrats to both you and to Mom-Wombat! Sorry, these little guys are cuties, but "diaper-overload" fits the "ugly" topic pretty darned well as I recall....

Anonymous said...

Pandas are marsupials, though, right? These bebehs surely haven't left the pouch yet?

Grats on the new baby. Love the blog. :)

AutiMama said...

Great blog and CONGRATS on the birth of your son.

Praying all is well with mommy and baby and enjoy them!!!

Anonymous said...

No, pandas are placental mammals, they just give birth to very altrical babies (offspring that require supervision and care from their parents after birth, where they are supplied with shelter, food and protection...like rabbits, mice, humans).
I don't know if they're still going around and around about whether pandas are closer to bears or just more of their own kind, but medieval folks thought that mama bears gave birth to just "lumps" of flesh and licked them into bear-shape and breathed life into them.

Yay for Wombat, Jr., too!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your little wombat! Is there a special name for a baby wombat? Womblet? Wombling?

Raging Wombat said...

This particular wombatling is named Sam.