Animals: Su-lin In

Into Manhattan’s Biltmore Hotel one morning last week rushed a svelte young woman in a Chinese otter coat, carrying in her arms a small, kicking, whining bundle of black & white fur. Said she to a room clerk: “I am Mrs. William H. Harkness and this is my baby panda.”

Newshawks followed Mrs. Harkness upstairs to inspect more closely what was easily Animal of the Year, only a two-months infant but still the first giant panda ever captured alive, safely transported 10,000 mi. from a hollow tree in China’s chilly Szechwan Province (TIME, Dec. 7). Opening the hotel windows wide, Mrs. Harkness called for boiling water, proceeded to warm the small creature’s nursing bottle of powdered milk, syrup and cod liver oil.

“Her name is Su-lin, which means a-little-bit-of-something-cute,” Mrs. Harkness explained. Su-lin had one tooth cut aboard the President McKlnley. Shivering newshawks watched her grasp the bottle in her paws, jerk off the nipple, suck Mrs. Harkness’ ear lobe.

When she grows up Su-lin will be 5 ft. and weigh 300 lb., eat nothing but bamboo shoots, of which Mrs. Harkness brought back a supply. She will stay in a refrigerated room in the Harkness apartment until Mrs. Harkness finds a zoo willing to put up $20,000 for another panda expedition. Sighed Mrs. Harkness: “I would love to find Su-lin a mate but that’s a lot to expect.”