The Giant Pandas at the National Zoo had a baby. The parent pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, were exchanged from China a few years ago for $10 million dollars in donations to be used for conservation projects. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are the National Zoo's second pair of giant pandas. Meix Xiang birthed the tiny baby 3-5 ounce baby at about 3:45AM this morning. The sex of the baby is not known since the zookeepers won't disturb the infant or mother.
Pandas are difficult to breed in captivity. If this baby lives it will be only the third to survive a captive birth in the U.S. Five others have been born at the National Zoo but have not survived. The pandas were mated last March when zookeepers artificially inseminated them. Pandas ovulate once a year, and if they do not become pregnant they can have "pseudopregnancies" with elevated hormone levels and behavior that mimics a pregnant panda. Some cues that Mei Xiang was pregnant include that she was "sleeping much of the day, eating little, building a bamboo nest in her den and cradling apples".The new panda will become property of China after it is weaned, when it reaches two years. China will also name the baby after its first 100 days.
Pandas have been considered an endangered species since the 1960's. The good news is that a recent census by the World Wildlife Fund and the Chinese government found 1600 pandas living in China, 50% more then they had expected to find. Placing the pandas in zoos around the world helps raise awareness of pandas and endangered species. As well attempting to breed pandas in captivity provides a potential alternative to breeding and hopefully helps insure the panda's precarious existence in the wild. There are several breeding facilities in China, including the renowned Chengdu breeding center.
