Giant panda Mei Xiang of Washington DC’s National Zoo gave birth to twin cubs on Friday and Saturday. It was her third and fourth births, all of them in DC. Sadly, the latter was a stillborn:
Mei groomed the stillborn cub for 17 minutes, then it fell on to the floor where it lay motionless & made no sound.
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 25, 2013
That cub was the second of Mei Xiang’s to die; last year, one of her cubs died after six days. In 2005, however, she gave birth to a healthy male named Tai Shan.
How’s the new cub — all 137 grams of him/her — doing? Hard to tell. Reports Washington Post:
An early exam at the zoo is a change from last year, and staff members made several other changes in preparation for another cub. Mei Xiang’s den was altered to allow keepers to get closer to her, and the zoo invited a panda expert from China who specializes in newborns to help out. Two of the zoo’s panda keepers also recently spent time in China learning more about examining newborns.
Zookeepers made two attempts at examining the cub Saturday, but Mei Xiang was cradling the cub and officials were unable to take it for a closer examination, zoo spokeswoman Baker-Masson said. They planned to try again Sunday.
But everyone will be watching closely, as you can as well via cub cam.
Naturally, the zoo is excited, as it’s been tweeting furiously about the cub over the weekend:
Watch the panda cams now! Mei's water broke a short time ago and she's having contractions. She may give birth in a few hours #cubwatch
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
We'll bring you updates, but in the meantime keep your eyes on the cams #cubwatch http://t.co/DXbIs7hKsF
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
CORRECTION: Labor could take up to 10 hours. Stay tuned for updates. #cubwatch
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
At 5:32 pm local time…
WE HAVE A CUB!! Born at 5:32 p.m. this evening. More details to follow. http://t.co/R88TEAQKzv #cubwatch
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
At 5:58 pm local time, the first picture!
A cub is born! First photo of the cub, born today at 5:32 p.m. pic.twitter.com/CcHkRGSgHe
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
And… aw…
Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately to begin cradling & caring for it. The cub is vocalizing. #cubwatch http://t.co/i5R5jCb0ZZ
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 23, 2013
We also learn that it takes two to three weeks to determine the sex and paternity of baby pandas:
The panda team was able to get biological samples this morning. We'll know the cub's sex & paternity in 2-3 weeks. #cubwatch
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) August 25, 2013
There’s a 30-second video, too, which you can watch above. It’s a nice moment. Miracle of life and all that.
