National Zoo

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A gorilla was born Friday to two members of a western lowland gorilla group assembled at the National Zoo five years ago as part of a plan to increase the population of the endangered species.Mandara, a 9-year-old western lowland gorilla, gave birth to a full-term infant, believed to be a male, in the early hours of the morning. The last gorilla birth at the zoo occurred in 1972.At this time, mother and newborn are doing well, zoo officials said in a written statement.

I was utterly thrilled by your story about the new animals arriving at the zoo ("Maryland Zoo welcomes new lioness, giraffe," Dec. 3). However, I wish there had been as much in the article about the lioness, such as her age and weight, as there was about the giraffe. For a while, I have been going to the National Zoo in Washington because I felt that the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore was not doing anything new. it was the same-old, same-old that I've seen since I was little. However, with the new animals arriving I will be going to the Maryland Zoo once more.

Those parents wishing to entertain their children while educating them should consider the Smithsonian Institution's Fiesta Musical 2003 Sunday. The annual celebration, held at the National Zoo in Washington, highlights Latin American culture via live music, dance and Hispanic cuisine while entertaining the kids with handicrafts, storytellers, puppet shows and even demonstrations focusing on Latin American animals. Fiesta Festival 2003 will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington.

A male foal Zebra sticks close to his mother at the National Zoo of San Salvador. This baby is less than a week old and the first to be born in the National Zoo.

WASHINGTON -- The camera lights were so bright that it looked as though a spaceship had touched down in the thicket of bamboo outside the panda exhibit, and perhaps one had. Certainly it seemed like every earthbound news outlet was there: television crews from China, Russia and England, writers from both U.S. coasts. All told, about 100 journalists clamored to pose the important questions of the day: Did he get mommy's round eye spots or daddy's bean-shaped ones? He doesn't look like a stick of butter anymore - does he?

WASHINGTON - The city's newest stars made their debut at the National Zoo yesterday, two ready-for-prime-time pandas working the public like a pair of Washington professionals. Romping across a grassy lawn right on cue, they submitted to countless photo sessions, soaked up applause and waited to be adored. (It didn't take long.) The opening of the giant panda exhibition formally introduced the nation to these new celebrities, who, like stage divas, immediately began chewing up the scenery.

A male foal Zebra sticks close to his mother at the National Zoo of San Salvador. This baby is less than a week old and the first to be born in the National Zoo.

Somebody has to be president, alas. Forget Florida. Pandas have returned to the National Zoo and all is right with the world. TV program note: DAG is not JAG. Charging tolls at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge the same as other bridges wouldn't solve all of Maryland's traffic problems. Only some of them. The British Museum finally put a lid on it.

Model railroads Train enthusiasts should make their way to the DelMarVa Model Railroad Club's Open House this weekend in Delmar, Del. More than 6,000 square feet of operating model railroads will be on display, including N-scales, N-track modules, HO layouts, O-gauge tinplates, O-scale Lionel models and G-gauge models. There will also be train videos, items for sale, raffles and refreshments. The railroad open house runs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the DelMarVa Model Railroad Club, 103 E. State St., Delmar, Del. Free.

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Scrantonians have spoken: It seems no one wants this city's elephant in exile, Toni, to reproduce, even if big-city zoo keepers think it's best for her.A public hearing Tuesday night, jammed with local fans of the elephant, was called to help city officials decide what to do about the controversy over the elephant.Scranton owns Toni but sent her to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., after the local zoo closed four years ago.National Zoo officials, who pay Toni's $25,000 annual expenses, want her to live a normal life -- and that includes breeding.

State police on Friday charged the driver who investigators said pulled out in front of a tour bus carrying a group of Kent County kindergarten students and parents to the National Zoo in Washington. Carl Trenz Jr., 49, of the 100 block of Big Holly Court in Stevensville faces reckless driving, negligent driving and related charges after the Queen Anne's County crash that sent 17 people to area hospitals on Thursday. Trenz was driving a 2010 Volkswagen Toureg and pulled out from White Marsh Road onto southbound Route 213, directly into the path of the southbound tour bus, state police said.

After a long winter stuck inside, no one's looking more eagerly toward spring than Baltimore families. It's time to get the kids outside and reconnected with nature, wildlife and the exotic critters someone can run into only at a zoo, aquarium or nature center. Over the chilly months, some of the area's favorite animal attractions got older, wiser and -- who knows? -- maybe even a bit cuter, even as a new baby or two arrived on the scene. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore had a particularly rough winter and is especially hopeful that animal lovers return this spring in droves.

A commotion occurred about noon yesterday at the Great Ape House at the National Zoo. A collective shriek arose. A stroller jam ensued. Cameras clicked and whirred. Mandara, one of the female gorillas, had just appeared, cradling the zoo's latest addition. Mandara, 26, had given birth to an infant, sex and name undetermined, about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, without fanfare or any evident histrionics on the other side of a large plate glass window in full view of staff employees and a few lucky onlookers.

CLASSICAL MUSIC IN THE GREAT HALL -- 5 p.m. today. Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Road. $20 ($5 students). 410-813-4255 or migh.org Jonathan Carney, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's notable concertmaster, has plenty to do these days, what with the high-profile opening of the BSO season in a couple of weeks. But he has found time to give a recital today, the first entry in the 2007-2008 concert series of Music in the Great Hall, which has been a welcome fixture on the local cultural scene for more than 30 years.

Bay grasses The lowdown -- Quick quiz: What's SAV? The answer is submerged aquatic vegetation. Learn what it is and why it is important to the bay as the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center hosts "Grasses to the Masses," a program geared toward restoring bay grasses. If you go -- The free program is 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at the center, 700 Otter Point Road in Abingdon. For more information, call 410-612-1688 or go to otterpointcreek.org. FONZ The lowdown -- Calling all fans of wildlife. Join the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ)

WASHINGTON -- The camera lights were so bright that it looked as though a spaceship had touched down in the thicket of bamboo outside the panda exhibit, and perhaps one had. Certainly it seemed like every earthbound news outlet was there: television crews from China, Russia and England, writers from both U.S. coasts. All told, about 100 journalists clamored to pose the important questions of the day: Did he get mommy's round eye spots or daddy's bean-shaped ones? He doesn't look like a stick of butter anymore - does he?

Anne Arundel County is getting so rough you could get hit b a bison there.Clinton means to be high-minded with China, so don't expect a replacement for Ling-Ling at the National Zoo soon.George sure is getting a lot of last-minute travel in, but he gets senior citizen's discount.Milan Panic held a mythical prime ministry and when they took it away he refused to give it up. It's his fantasy and he's sticking to it.Czechoslovakia no longer exists, so it is no longer necessary to try to learn how to spell it.

In a move that has angered conservationists and alarmed scientists, Lawrence Small, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has announced plans to close several of its facilities, including the Conservation and Research Center, a 3,200-acre field station near Front Royal, Va. Part of the National Zoo, which in turn is part of the Smithsonian, the center is internationally known for its work training conservation scientists and restoring endangered species,...

And on the 100th day, he was named. All you panda groupies who log on to the National Zoo's Web site to watch the panda cub stretch and snooze now have a name to go with that ridiculously cute face: Tai Shan, as the panda was ceremoniously named yesterday before Chinese and U.S. officials in Washington. Tai Shan (Tie-Shun) is Chinese for "peaceful mountain." He could have been named China Washington or Washington China - two other options in the zoo's naming contest - or even "dragon mountain."

WASHINGTON - The Truman Show is now playing at the National Zoo, and it's a hit. But this time the star is not Jim Carrey, portraying a man living in a manufactured city populated by actors pretending to be his family, his every move captured on camera and beamed around the world. No, the star now is a baby panda that doesn't even have a name but has already won a place on the computer desktops, and in the hearts, of thousands. "Oh my God, he's so cute," said Beth Lacey Gill, a publications specialist at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, who logs onto the panda's Web site daily.