Mei Xiang and her newborn cub were up all night. (Note the time stamp.) Photograph courtesy of the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Perhaps as a salve to this morning’s sad horse news, the National Zoo offered an update about a much different specimen just a few hours later: The newborn giant panda cub is doing fine.
The zoo posted a brief YouTube clip taken off its round-the-clock panda cameras showing female giant panda Mei Xiang mothering her six-day-old cub. In the video, the cub, which still seems ways away from taking on a more ursine form, stands a few inches from Mei Xiang while an insect skitters across a pile of hay. Also, the cub can be heard squeaking throughout the video until Mei Xiang picks it up using her mouth. And that’s all good according to panda researchers.
“You’ll see the tiny cub has a round belly which indicates to the panda team that it is nursing well,” the zoo writes. “Also, the cub has a great set of lungs.” Last year’s panda cub did not.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Here’s Your Daily Dose of Panda Cub
Surveillance video from National Zoo shows that newborn panda cub is still tiny and squeaky.
Perhaps as a salve to this morning’s sad horse news, the National Zoo offered an update about a much different specimen just a few hours later: The newborn giant panda cub is doing fine.
The zoo posted a brief YouTube clip taken off its round-the-clock panda cameras showing female giant panda Mei Xiang mothering her six-day-old cub. In the video, the cub, which still seems ways away from taking on a more ursine form, stands a few inches from Mei Xiang while an insect skitters across a pile of hay. Also, the cub can be heard squeaking throughout the video until Mei Xiang picks it up using her mouth. And that’s all good according to panda researchers.
“You’ll see the tiny cub has a round belly which indicates to the panda team that it is nursing well,” the zoo writes. “Also, the cub has a great set of lungs.” Last year’s panda cub did not.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Dognapping Is Becoming a Problem in DC. Here’s How Pet Owners Can Protect Themselves and Their Pets.
March for Our Lives Is Planning a Huge DC Protest Against Gun Violence in June
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
DC Spring Animal Sightings, Ranked From Worst to Wildest
Should We Care About What’s Left of the Trucker Convoy?
Washingtonian Magazine
June 2022: 101 Reasons to Love Summer in DC
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol
LGBTQ Pioneer Barney Frank’s Story Is Now a Graphic Novel
Inside the Effort to Revamp the DC Archives
This DC Poet Was Once the USSR’s Biggest Kid Actor
More from News & Politics
DC Spring Animal Sightings, Ranked From Worst to Wildest
March for Our Lives Is Planning a Huge DC Protest Against Gun Violence in June
Dognapping Is Becoming a Problem in DC. Here’s How Pet Owners Can Protect Themselves and Their Pets.
Should We Care About What’s Left of the Trucker Convoy?
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
Number of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Hits Record Low