Delivering a “much-needed moment of pure joy,” the US National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang on Friday gave birth to a wiggling cub at a time of global pandemic and social unrest.
An experienced mom, “Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and began cradling and caring for it,” the zoo said in a statement. “The panda team heard the cub vocalize.”
Panda lovers around the world were able to see the birth on the zoo’s Panda Cam. Zookeepers also were using the camera to keep an eye on the mom and baby.
Photo: Reuters
“Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and with the birth of this precious cub we are thrilled to offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy,” said Steve Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Monfort said Mei Xiang’s age — 22 — made her chances of giving birth to a cub slim.
“However, we wanted to give her one more opportunity to contribute to her species’ survival,” he said.
She is the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the US. The oldest in the world gave birth in China at age 23.
Mei Xiang has three surviving offspring, Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, that were transported to China at age 4 under an agreement with the Chinese government.
Earlier this week, the zoo posted an image from Mei Xiang’s ultrasound that confirmed the pregnancy.
“We need this! We totally need this joy,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said when the pregnancy was confirmed. “We are all in desperate need of these feel-goods.”
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