Giant panda cub at National Zoo in Washington dies

WASHINGTON (AP) - The giant panda cub born a week ago at the National Zoo in Washington died on Sunday morning, saddening zoo officials and visitors who had heralded its unexpected arrival.

The 113g cub, about the size of a stick of butter, showed no obvious signs of distress and made its final recorded noise shortly before 9am (12am, Singapore time) on Sunday, zoo officials said at a news conference.

The cub's mother, Mei Xiang, then made an unusual honking sound at 9.17am that her keepers interpreted as a distress call, and she moved away from where she had been nesting with the cub. About an hour later, one keeper distracted her with honey water while another used an instrument similar to a lacrosse stick to pick up the cub.

The cub, whose gender could not be determined externally, was not breathing and its heart had stopped. A veterinarian attempted CPR before it was pronounced dead at 10.28am.