National Zoo

Cherry Blossom time When does spring begin this year? Most would say it officially began March 20. Some may say it began with the first spring-training baseball game. Others, however, know that spring really begins with the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington. This year, the festival kicks off Saturday and runs through April 10. The festival commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the people of Tokyo to the people of Washington in 1912. It features numerous events throughout the two weeks, including a kite festival, live performances and a sushi tasting.

While your attempt at making your home resemble a page from Better Homes and Gardens may have failed, the chance to see perfectly holiday-decorated houses has not passed. On Sunday, seven houses, both historic and modern, in Liberty Township in Adams County, Pa., are opening their doors for the Holiday Home Tour. Decorated homes include the Pecher Farm, a renovated 1800 stone farmhouse; Windborne Farm House and Barns, a working sheep farm; as well as a reproduction New England saltbox, a converted post and beam barn, a Revolutionary-period log house and a passive-solar home built in the 1980s.

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.

WASHINGTON - The bald eagle cage at the National Zoo was quiet yesterday. A stray piece of crime-scene tape in the cage and an open door were the only signs of something amiss. But the search was on for the killer in the July 4 death of Captain, one of the zoo's three bald eagles. A bobcat is the prime suspect, according to General Curator Bill Xanten. Local animal experts sniffed at his theory, however. They say no bobcats have been reported anywhere near the zoo, tucked into the capital's wooded Rock Creek Park about 2 miles north of the White House, since area animal surveys began in 1976.

WASHINGTON - The National Zoo, beset by criticism over animal deaths, had its accreditation called into question last week after inspectors reported problems with its buildings, leadership, staff morale and funding. The 114-year-old zoo's application to renew its accreditation has been tabled until it makes the physical improvements and other changes necessary to win the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's unqualified backing. Every five years, the association inspects major U.S. zoos, including the Central Park and Bronx zoos in New York, and zoos and animal parks in most sections of the country.

The World Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that a small number of U.S. troops are on the ground in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Hans Blix, the U.N. chief weapons inspector, reported that Iraq has not fully accepted the need to disarm, even to avoid war. Ariel Sharon's Likud Party dominated parliamentary elections in Israel, assuring his continuation as president. Poachers who killed two rare female mountain gorillas and snatched the baby they were protecting were sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Rwanda.

WASHINGTON -- Millions of dollars invested. Teams of elite scientists. An international trade agreement. Media coverage that money couldn't buy. The enterprise is pandas, giant pandas, and now, giant panda sex. The National Zoo's female panda is 3 1/2 , nearing what some believe to be reproductive age. So talk about a new panda generation has begun, although it is by no means certain that the pandas are listening. The pandas, Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) and Tian Tian (tee-YEN), are huge in Washington.