National Zoo panda cub named Xiao Qi Ji or ‘Little Miracle’

This handout photo released by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo shows a panda cub named Xiao Qi Ji in Washington. More than three months after his birth, the National Zoo’s new panda cub finally has a name. Officials at the Smithsonian, which runs the zoo, announced Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, that the cub born on August 21 would be named Xiao Qi Ji, which is Mandarin Chinese for “little miracle.” (Smithsonian’s National Zoo via AP)

More than three months after his birth, the National Zoo’s new panda cub finally has a name.

Officials at the Smithsonian, which runs the zoo, announced Monday morning that the cub born on August 21 would be named Xiao Qi Ji, which is Mandarin Chinese for “little miracle.”

The choice was the result of a five-day online poll that drew nearly 135,000 voters to choose between different Mandarin Chinese names. In a nod to Chinese tradition, the name was not chosen until 100 days after the birth.

Monday’s announcement comes on the day the zoo shut its doors to the public for the second time this year due to the the COVID-19 pandemic. Smithsonian officials announced last week that the zoo and the seven museums that had been operating at limited capacity would all shut down indefinitely as the virus continues to spike locally and around the country.

The Smithsonian first shut down all its facilities in mid-March. But the zoo reopened on July 24 and other museums gradually reopened other museums with timed entry passes to keep the crowds low.

Even if the zoo were open, the indoor panda house would have remained closed to the public, making the zoo’s popular panda-cam, the only way to view the baby bear, who doctors say is up to 10.4 pounds and starting to crawl.


National Zoo: Genetic tests reveal new baby panda is a boy


© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Citation:
National Zoo panda cub named Xiao Qi Ji or ‘Little Miracle’ (2020, November 23)
retrieved 23 November 2020
from https://phys.org/news/2020-11-national-zoo-panda-cub-xiao.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.


Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like