WP: National Zoo's Panda Gives Birth: Mei Xiang, Cub Closely Monitored

[DeepModem Mom]

National Zoo's Panda Gives Birth
Mei Xiang and Cub Being Monitored Closely

By Fred Barbash and D'Vera Cohn
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 9, 2005; 9:54 AM


Mei Xiang, the giant panda at the National Zoo, gave birth early this morning to a baby the size of a stick of butter.

Time of birth was 3:41 a.m. Gender and weight are unknown as nobody dares go near the mother and cub at this extremely delicate time. Mei Xiang weighs over 250 pounds. Both are being closely monitored and are doing well, according to Zoo spokeswoman Peper Long.

"Giant panda cubs are very fragile and small. We will intervene only if we need to do so," said Long.

National Zoo pandas have had five births over the years but only one baby lived for any amount of time -- a few days....

***

Pandas are notoriously poor breeders. Females come into heat for two or three days a year, false pregnancies are common, and cubs are so small that sometimes their mother accidentally crushes them. This worsens their chances of survival in the wild, where only about 1,600 are left in the shrinking bamboo forests of China....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/09/AR2005070900412.html?sub=AR

[Toucano]

1. And here I didn't even know she was expecting. n/t

[MountainLaurel]

2. Nobody really did

According to the article.

The pisser about all this is that the pandas don't even belong to the zoo. They're being "leased" from the China panda reserve at $1 million/year, and the cub too will return to China eventually.

[pscot]

3. Anybody know if they've remodeled the Panda exhibit?

I Visited the D.C. zoo back in the early ninety's and the poor pandas were living in a squalid concrete pen with no amenities. It was a national disgrace. I was ready to call the SPCA.

[Comicstripper]

4. I live in DC

Not much has changed. They do have a large outdoor area as well, though, and it's pretty nice.