News & Politics

The National Zoo’s Baby Panda Is Two Months Old and Cuter Than Ever

All hail our chunky panda prince.

Photo courtesy of the National Zoo.

Congratulations: You officially made it through the final presidential debate. Your reward? A baby panda palate cleanser. The National Zoo’s giant baby panda turned two months old on October 21, celebrating the occasion with a visit to the vet.

Our chonky bear is officially as rotund as he is long, measuring 16.5 inches in both girth and length. The still-unnamed cub gained more than a pound since his last weigh-in, increasing from 5.4 pounds to 6.5 pounds. (Perhaps he’s inspired by all the fruitsicles mama bear Mei Xiang has been eating). Modeling good flu season behavior, the fuzzball also got his first vaccine.

Beyond serving some dad-bod realness, the baby bear has become “quite a wiggle worm,” according to an update by assistant curator of giant pandas Laurie Thompson. He can’t walk yet, but the panda has started crawling and the zoo expects him to take his first steps in around a month. Watch highlights from his visit here:

Daniella Byck
Lifestyle Editor

Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.