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Going up? DC panda cub shows off new climbing tricks in new year

“New year, new me” seems to apply to the youngest panda cub at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo as well, as he’s already showing off new climbing abilities. Xiao Qi Ji was observed scaling some of the small rockwork at the zoo’s indoor habitat in Northwest D.C. while mom Mei Xiang watched over him dutifully.

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It’s been nothing but positive signs for “little miracle,” which is Xiao Qi Ji translated into Mandarin Chinese. He was starting to walk at the beginning of December, and that was just a few weeks after he had first learned to stand for brief periods of time. Xiao Qi Ji is still just over three months old, having been born on Aug. 21, so there will be more milestones to come as he continues to be — shall we say — miraculous.

Hundreds of guinea pigs fill Massachusetts sanctuary with squeals, purrs and lots of love

SALISBURY, Mass. (AP) — Kimie Smothermon begins each day greeted by the squeals, chirps and purrs of nearly 400 guinea pigs. Depending on who you ask, tending to the daily barrage of guinea pig needs can be either a fairy tale or a horror show. For Smothermon, it’s often a mix of both. “If I could figure out how to get out of this at this point, I probably would,” Smothermon joked. “But I do believe that to a certain extent, I probably wouldn’t get out of bed if I didn’t have this.” Smothermon is the owner of the Guinea Pig Sanctuary, in Salisbury, Massachusetts, roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Boston. On any given day, 350 to 400 guinea pigs are housed in a modest workspace, split into cages stacked from the floor to ceiling.
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