The National Zoo in Washington D.C. announced Mei Xiang is the proud new mother of a baby giant panda and that the mother and child are doing fine. The birth occurred at 3:41 a.m. EDT and will make a fine addition to the only 1700 or so left in the entire world.
The animal, native to China has suffered major survival setbacks as much of it’s natural habitat are destroyed and the period for the females to produce offspring are very few and very far between.
At a 9 a.m. briefing, Head Veterinarian Suzan Murray and Assistant Curator Lisa Stevens reported that the cub is quite active and quite loud. They said Mei looks to be a fine mother. Much like any parent, she began cuddling and cradling almost immediately after the birth and also like any parent, when the child screams, sleep takes a snooze.
Mei Xiang went into labor around 1 a.m. and panda keeper Brenda Morgan watched intently on monitors to make sure the new mother and child were doing well. At this point, staff are letting nature takes its course with regard to mother and child. They only plan to intervene if Mei ignores the cub or if the cub looks sick or distressed.
Unfortunately for Pandafiles, the little tyke won’t be available in the viewing room for a few days. Animal Planet has exclusive rights to the video for the first 24-hour period. The Panda Cam will flipped back on at that point. The Panda exhibit itself will be shut down for a few days, until Mei Xiang adjusts to motherhood.
This birth is the product of artificial insemination. Back in March, the National Zoo matchmakers attempted to put Mei Xiang and Tian Tian together but the two didn’t hit it off. The artificial insemination route happened instead and Tian Tian is the father.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
