Zoo Announces: It's a Boy!

[Pirate Smile]

Zoo Announces: It's a Boy!

By D'Vera Cohn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 2, 2005; 3:15 PM

The National Zoo's giant panda cub is male, weighs just under two pounds and is a foot long, according to a veterinarian who examined the newborn this morning.

The cub's heart and respiratory rates indicate that he is in good health, zoo associate veterinarian Sharon Deem said in a statement. He weighs 1.82 pounds, nearly four times what he probably weighed at birth.


Veterinarians at the National Zoo weighed and measured the new male panda cub during its first health exam. (National Zoo)

Until today, zoo staff had only been able to view the cub on a camera in the birthing den that is also connected to the Internet for the world to see. But this morning, when mother Mei Xiang left the birthing den to eat bamboo in a neighboring room at the Panda House, Deem, assistant curator Lisa Stevens and panda keeper Laurie Perry gave the cub a nine-minute exam.

Zoo staff have been waiting until the mother left the cub regularly for several minutes at a time so they could close the door to the birthing area and examine the young panda without causing Mei Xiang undue stress. Despite that, the mother panda was anxious during the exam, standing up at the door, pawing it, and attempting to open the window between the two rooms, according to a description on the zoo's Web site. The cub squawked once, when its mouth was examined.

When the exam was over, and Mei Xiang was let back into the birthing den, she immediately retrieved the cub and examined it, then curled up with her newborn and went to sleep.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201013.html

Awwwww.

[napi21]

1. Did you see the pic of that tiny baby laying partly on Mom's paw?

The dear little thing isn't even half the size as that paw!

It truely amaizes me that suh a hugh animal can give birth to such a tiny cub, and not hurt it somehow!

Thanks for the post! It sure was MY smile for today!!!!

[Pirate Smile]

4. Glad to help!

:)

[Bunny]

2. Oh that's great news!

What a little cutie!

[Gloria]

3. Here's the cam....so you can watch mom and baby.....

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm?cam=LP1

[roguevalley]

5. lovely post. thank you so much. I lurve pandas.

[FuzzySlippers]

6. That damn thing is so cute,

I'm in imminent danger of ooohing and awwwwing myself to death.:-)