Mei Xiang Possibly Pregnant!! Or Pseudo/False Pregnant. We Don’t Know!!

Photo by PoPville flickr user Brian Mosley

Calm down Dan. The important thing to note is that:

“Beginning Aug. 18, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be partially closed to keep a quiet area around panda Mei Xiang’s den.”

However, given how much joy a real pregnancy/baby panda would bring – I’m gonna treat this like buying a Powerball lottery ticket – until those numbers are drawn – I’m a multi-multi-millionaire in my mind. Hello baby panda!!!

More from the National Zoo:

“Although we are not able to confirm if she is pregnant, Mei Xiang is exhibiting expected and normal behaviors after the secondary hormone rise that are in line with both a pregnancy and pseudo or false pregnancy. She is building a nest in her den, has a decreased appetite, is sleeping more and reacting to loud noises. Paws-crossed!

Pandas, like several other species, can undergo pseudopregnancies, where they do everything they would if they were pregnant. At the end of a pseudopregnancy, however, hormone levels return to baseline and females’ energy levels and behavior return to normal.

The closure will not affect the outdoor habitats and viewing areas. Please note, that although Bei Bei will have access to be outside until 2 p.m., due to the weather, the best time to see him will be outside in his yard from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Indoor viewing for Bei Bei will be closed.

It’s still too early to tell if Mei Xiang is pregnant or experiencing a pseudopregnancy, but the panda team will continue to monitor her behavior, hormones and changes in her uterus. “