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TOPLINE
Mei Xiang, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s 22-year-old female giant panda, gave birth to a cub on Friday, making her the oldest giant panda to give birth in the United States and giving Washington, D.C. its first giant panda cub in five years.
Giant panda Mei Xiang and her cub Bei Bei at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on … [+]
The Washington Post via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and began cradling and caring for it after its arrival at 6:35 p.m., the National Zoo said in a statement.
National Zoo staff and fans watched on the zoo’s Giant Panda Cam, which follows Mei Xiang and male giant panda Tian Tian.
Reproductive scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the zoo’s veterinarians artificially inseminated Mei Xiang on March 22 using Tian Tian’s frozen semen.
This is the first time a zoo in the U.S. has had a successful pregnancy and birth via artificial insemination using only frozen semen, the National Zoo said.
There is a small window of time that female giant pandas can get pregnant — only 24 to 72 hours a year — and they can only breed into their early 20s.
Steve Monfort, director of the zoo’s institute, said giant pandas are a symbol of endangered wildlife and hope and that the team is thrilled to “offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy.”
further background
This is Mei Xiang’s fourth surviving cub after Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, who have all been moved to China as part of the zoo’s cooperative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Although the zoo has reopened with limited hours and entry due to Covid-19, the panda house at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat is closed to provide quiet for Mei Xiang and her cub whose gender will be revealed at a later date.
tangent
The David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat is designed to mimic the pandas’ natural habitat in China. Rubenstein, one of three billionaire founders of private equity firm Carlyle Group, has donated $9 million to the panda program since 2011.
further reading
Giant Panda Cub Born at Smithsonian’s National Zoo (Statement)
David M. Rubenstein (Forbes)
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