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September 30, 2005

Two More Weeks Til Baby Panda Cub Gets A Name

The National Zoo has had a rough time recently, what with rat poison scandals and such. Now finally, we've had soon good news. Giant panda Mei Xiang had a male cub earlier this summer, and he's doing really well.

They praised the mothering skills of Mei Xiang, who was holding a rubber toy at the moment of birth and at first seemed surprised by her squawking cub. But she quickly gave it her full attention.

"She looked kind of startled for all of about two minutes, and then she picked the cub up," said Lisa M. Stevens, associate curator for pandas and primates. "She picked it right up and began cuddling and cradling it. The cub responded immediately and settled in."

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The cub will not be named until it is 100 days old, a Chinese tradition.

More at: Zoo's Pandas Produce First Cub, High Hopes

The Smithsonian National Zoo posts lots of info on his progress on their website, including a live panda cam that I spent a good 30 minutes watching. I took a couple screen captures to show you the kind of cuteness you can find for yourself if you check it out.

The cub started at a little over a pound and now he's gained about 10 pounds and is started to be much more active and vocal. You can check out the his growth progress here.

The Zoo's female panda, Mei Xiang, gave birth to a cub on July 9. For at least three months, she and the cub will be in the indoor area of the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat, which will be closed to minimize disturbance.

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The panda cams provide a window into the world of the Zoo's new giant panda mother, Mei Xiang. She gave birth to a male cub on July 9. At its first exam on August 2, it weighed a little less than two pounds.

Watch Mom & Cub: PandaCam

They've also got a photo gallery going, this is my favorite photo from it so far.

Posted by sorsha at September 30, 2005 10:04 PM