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 Can't see the pandas? Download the latest version of RealPlayer, free. You are watching live images of Mei Xiang, a giant panda, and her newborn cub at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The cub was born at 3:41 a.m. on Saturday, July 9. Zoo keepers were happy to see Mei Xiang cradling and cuddling her cub only two minutes after its birth. It's a Boy! At 8:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, Mei Xiang briefly left her cub to forage in the nearby indoor exhibit. Staff took the opportunity to examine the cub and were excited to find out that it's a healthy, solid male. During the 9-minute exam, Mei Xiang was anxious to get her cub back. When finally allowed back into the enclosure, she immediately retrieved the cub, gave it an exam of her own, and then curled up with it in her favorite position. See photos from examination day. Zoo veterinarians examined the cub again on Aug. 8, Aug. 18, Aug. 30, Sept. 8 and Sept. 19.
Go directly to the Aug. 8 photos. About the Pandas Mei Xiang is one of two adult giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) that live at the National Zoo. Tian Tian, (pronounced t-YEN t-YEN) which means "more and more," is the male and the larger of the two. Mei Xiang, (pronounced may-SHONG) which means "beautiful fragrance," is the female and the youngest. During normal hours, you are most likely to see the bears eating bamboo or sleeping. But they are also notoriously playful, so you may also see them chase, bite and cuff one another. The pandas are on loan to the zoo, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, for ten years. During that time zoo scientists will study the bears as part of the international conservation effort to save this endangered species.
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