Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, those cuddly pandas from Red China, are so happy in their new digs at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., that they have taken to standing on their heads and wiggling their rumps in an apparent gesture of good will. From Peking, however, came ominous reports that Milton and Matilda, the musk oxen that President Nixon presented to the Chinese, were not on exhibit at the Peking Zoo because they were suffering from postnasal drip and a skin condition that was causing them to shed their hair.
"Culture shock" and the rigors of travel are the diagnoses offered by Dr. Theodore Reed, the National Zoo director who escorted the shaggy oxen to Peking. Mindful of the possible international repercussions, Reed explains that the runny noses and such were partly a temporary reaction to "hearing Chinese spoken instead of English, seeing new faces, new uniforms, new surroundings and eating Chinese hay and grain. Hoof stock don't travel as well as, say, pandas." Sure enough, late last week word came from Peking that Milton and Matilda had recovered. Reed attributes the cure to his recommended treatment of antibiotics and "tender loving care." Or was it perhaps acupuncture?