Recently, he spooked Mei Xiang with a plucky bark and sampled some of mama bear’s bamboo. Until then, we’ll keep our eyes on the cub. Decemberĭecember started on a melancholy note when the zoo announced Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would leave the National Zoo at the end of 2023, with Xiao Qi ji slated to depart at the same time. After a short struggle, the pint-size bear tucked his squat legs under his squat body and began waddling toward mom Mei Xiang. Three-month-old Xiao Qi ji gave us yet another moment to be thankful on Turkey Day when the Giant Panda Cam captured his inaugural steps. The Mandarin term translates to “little miracle.” Just under 135,000 people practiced their democratic right to name our prince, and he was dubbed Xiao Qi ji. In mid-November, voting opened on a subject that would have major repercussions for Washington: the panda’s name. Although the panda made it look effortless, we can only imagine how exhausting it is to be this cute all the time. Upon hearing the keepers laugh during an exam, the feisty fuzzball barked in response and then promptly fell asleep. In typical Leo fashion, the cub started developing a saucy personality. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang also got some carrot-and-applesauce “snack-o-lanterns” to munch on. Similar to human babies, the panda cub received a treat of his own: a pumpkin. We discovered that our roly-poly panda was as rotound as he was long, measuring 16.5 inches in both girth and length.Īt the end of October, the dad-bod bear celebrated Halloween. Giant panda papa Tian Tien painted an abstract work of art using blue paint- no pyrotechnics necessary.Īccording to an update by assistant curator of giant pandas Laurie Thompson, the baby bear had become “quite a wiggle worm,” as seen during his two-month exam. It’s a boy! After genetic testing revealed the panda’s gender, the zoo celebrated with a gender reveal for the chonky bear. While his eyes were still sealed shut, his vocal chords proved hearty as he grunted and squealed. Clocking in at 13.4 inches, the bear was 15 percent tail and just over two pounds. The cub celebrated his one-month birthday on September 21 with his first veterinary exam. (The black markings on his legs are adorably referred to as knee socks.) Quickly emerging from his ugly-duckling phase, the pocket panda began to grow tufts of quintessential black-and-white fur. Exclamations of “what is that?” followed by “aSeptember Just a week later on August 21 (pandas have remarkably short gestations), Mei Xiang gave birth to a stick of butter healthy cub. Our maskne cleared, toilet paper returned to shelves, and all seemed okay, if only for a moment. Augustįinally, a glimmer of hope: The zoo announced that an ultrasound had detected fetal tissue in the 22-year-old bear, a sign she was pregnant. Thus the coronavirus baby boom commenced. The zoo hopped on the opportunity, artificially inseminating the mom-to-be with male Tian Tian’s frozen semen. Could 2020 get any worse? Marchīut while the world shut down and watched Tiger King, panda queen Mei Xiang started showing changes in behavior-an indication she was entering her breeding season. We had just bid bon voyage to Bei Bei as he embarked for China via the Panda Express, leaving behind a bear-shaped hole in our city’s heart. Johnson contributed to this report.The year began auspiciously with a lack of baby pandas in Washington. For now, though, his fans can watch him and his family on the zoo’s 24-hour Panda Cam.ĬNN’s Lauren M. When the zoo’s little miracle turns 4, he’ll move to China – part of the breeding agreement between the country and the National Zoo. As Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said in a message to the young cub, Chinese and American panda lovers alike have delighted in watching him teeth, roll and snuggle up to his mother. His birth provided a much-needed supply of hope during the challenging Covid-19 pandemic, too. He was born through artificial insemination, the first time a zoo has ever successfully executed a pregnancy and birth using frozen semen, according to the National Zoo. The petite ursine has yet to take his first steps, but he’s a proficient crawler. 1 cutie has hit some important milestones: He weighs over 10 pounds now, and last month he finally opened his eyes. The National Zoo confirms its new baby panda is a boy
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