suckling
あっという間のことでした。suckling（「ほ乳」）からきたsuckleという動詞は，他動詞では「授乳する」（give suck to~）と親の立場から，自動詞では「乳を吸う」と赤ちゃん側からの使い方の２つの用法があります。「生きる」，「生かされる」という日本語の表現をなぜだか連想してしまいました。合掌。（UG）
Zoo visitors say goodbye, offer prayers for panda cub
Visitors bid farewell to a panda cub Thursday at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo after the days-old baby died of pneumonia.
Visitors placed flowers on a table and prayed for the panda, the first cub born at the zoo in 24 years. They also wrote farewell messages on paper strips.
Satoshi Matsushima from Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, was the first to enter the zoo after it opened at 9:30 a.m. After praying in front of the cub's photo to express his condolences, Matsushima, 74, said: "I can't find words to describe my sadness. I was looking forward to seeing the cub grow up."
The photo, placed above the flower table, showed the cub suckling from its mother, Shin Shin.
Ueno Zoo Director Toshimitsu Doi said he plans to resume exhibiting Shin Shin within a month. "I hope visitors come to see Shin Shin after her appetite returns," Doi said.
Meanwhile, zoo officials said the cub died from pneumonia resulting from respiratory failure after he aspirated his mother's breast milk. After performing an autopsy on the cub, the Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed the cause of death.
According to the officials, the cub is believed to have suckled shortly before he was found lying motionless on his mother's stomach.
