ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997              TAG: 9704230065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST

HSING-HSING RECOVERING FROM CANCER SURGERY BELOVED PANDA PULLING THROUGH

By early afternoon, the celebrated bear had recovered enough to eat a sweet potato and panda gruel, a concoction of rice, cottage cheese, honey, soybean oil, vitamins and minerals.

The National Zoo's giant panda, Hsing-Hsing, had both his testicles removed during cancer surgery Tuesday, ending his breeding days and his participation in a worldwide effort to preserve the endangered species.

Veterinarians removed the 26-year-old panda's cancerous right testicle, then removed the left testicle ``as a precautionary measure.'' A lymph node also was removed to test whether the cancer has spread.

The test results won't be available for at least a week, but ``based on what the veterinarians were able to observe Tuesday, they remain optimistic about his recovery,'' said zoo spokesman Robert Hoage.

``Everything went smoothly,'' he said. By noon, an hour and a half after returning to his quarters, Hsing-Hsing was ``a little groggy and wobbly, but he is moving.''

By early afternoon, the celebrated bear had recovered enough to eat a sweet potato and panda gruel, a concoction of rice, cottage cheese, honey, soybean oil, vitamins and minerals. The panda exhibit was closed Tuesday, but zoo officials expect Hsing-Hsing will ``return to his normal activities within a few days.''

Hsing-Hsing - who is elderly for a panda - has been at the National Zoo for 25 years. He and his mate, Ling-Ling, were a gift to the United States from China in 1972, and they instantly became the zoo's most popular attraction. The pair did not produce a surviving cub to increase the dwindling species, and Ling-Ling died five years ago.

Fewer than 1,000 giant pandas live in the bamboo forests of China, and only about 100 are in zoos. The only giant pandas in the United States are Hsing-Hsing and a pair at the San Diego Zoo.

LENGTH: Short :   48 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ASSOCIATED PRESS/File 1997. Hsing-Hsing sniffs a 
          blueberry cake last week at the celebration of his 25th anniversary 
          at the National Zoo. color.