Three young pandas at a zoo in Atlanta initially thought to be males are actually females, genetic testing showed on Friday.
Zoo Atlanta spokeswoman Keisha Hines said the pandas were examined as part of a routine check-up to send one of them, named Po, to China. After finding out Po, who is 3 years old, is actually a female, the zoo decided to test two other twin cubs, the Associated Press reported.
As it turned out, the twins — Mei Lun and Mei Huan — were actually females, too.
It’s not the first time a panda born at Zoo Atlanta has been misidentified by gender. China authorities said in 2011 that a cub born at the zoo that was thought to be female also turned out to be male, AP reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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