Zoo

Photo: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Earlier this week we learned that the panda cub had grown to a “a whopping 1.9 pounds”. Now the Zoo sends out an even cuter photo and let’s us know that Bao Bao is doing well too:

“Our giant panda cub continues to pack on the grams. As of September 14, 2015, the cub weighs 881.5 grams (1.9 pounds). He has actually grown so much that he is now too big for Mei Xiang to pick up in her mouth! She often shifts his position now using her arms instead.

The bigger the cub gets the more distinct his iconic panda markings get.His back saddle (the black marking on a panda’s back) is becoming more distinct. And it looks like Tian Tian’s!

Panda cam viewers may notice the cub spending much of the day sleeping, which is typical of a giant panda his age. The keepers spotted him sleeping with his hand over his eye. This is a position Tian Tian, and sister, Bao Bao, like to sleep in frequently too.

Bao Bao is doing well and spends most of her days enjoying enrichment items and toys the keepers have set up for her in her yard and in her indoor enclosure. Since Mei Xiang is still choosing not to venture outside, Bao Bao has been able to play in her yard and Mei’s yard. She’s even spent some time up in her old hemlock tree, though it seems like she could be close to outgrowing it at 137 pounds (62.2 kilograms). Although she’s been busy outside, inside she has been very quiet since Mei gave birth. Keepers noticed the same behavior from Tian Tian as well and have seen it from him in years past. Although neither Bao Bao nor Tian Tian have seen the cub, both are aware that there is a female with her cub nearby.”

Photo: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“Our cub is starting to look like a little giant panda! His black markings have come in, and his back saddle looks just like his dad, Tian Tian’s. Keepers have also seen him sleeping with his paw over his eye—which is something both Tian Tian and his big sister Bao Bao do—even though his eyes won’t open until he’s between 6 and 8 weeks old. He’s a whopping 1.9 pounds (881.5 grams) and appears to be doing very well. Mei Xiang has felt comfortable during the last week leaving him on his own in the den several times a day for short periods. She is eating more and even ate one of her favorite food items—a pear—over the weekend.”

Photo via Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“Our panda cub is growing like a weed! He’s now 1.3 pounds (601.8 grams). That’s a weight gain of 58 grams overnight! In addition to packing on the grams, he is also starting to look like a little panda. His black markings are coming in; his first wisps of white fur are growing in; and every day his tail gets a little shorter. (Panda cubs grow into their tails.) He is squealing much less than he was during the first week and a half of life, and now mostly makes more of a grunting vocalization-all normal for a cub his age. His eyes are not open yet, but the panda team expects that they will start to open between 6 and 8 weeks. At his last two veterinary checkups he appeared to be very healthy and had a full belly each time.

Mei Xiang is becoming more comfortable leaving the den for short periods to eat and drink. It’s normal for a new panda mom to spend almost all of her time in her den with her cub. As her cub grows Mei will leave him in the den for increasingly longer periods of time so she can eat and drink. She left the den twice today.”

From the National Zoo:

“Mei Xiang decided to eat some sugarcane and drink dilute apple juice the keepers left for her yesterday evening around 6 p.m. Two hours later, she left the den to urinate and defecate—only the second time she’s done that since giving birth. She put the cub down when she left the den and he was very quiet for the while she was gone. Over the next few weeks she will get more comfortable leaving him for increasingly longer periods of time to eat and drink. While Mei was away, our behavior watchers captured a fantastic view close-up of the cub!”

From Smithsonian’s National Zoo:

“Our panda cub has been visible on the panda cams several times since yesterday. Keepers left some sugarcane for Mei Xiang in her den yesterday afternoon, and around 1 p.m. she decided to eat some! That is the first time she has eaten since giving birth. She put her cub down for a few minutes while eating, giving panda cam viewers an excellent view of him. He is starting to get black markings around his eyes, ears and back. He also picked up his head and grunted (which is a happy noise) while Mei ate. Mei put him down again early this morning for a few seconds while she sat up. The cub is nursing well and the panda team is very happy with his progress.”

Screenshot via Smithsonian’s National Zoo

From the National Zoo:

“Our giant panda cub is a boy, and he was sired by Tian Tian! He is doing well with Mei Xiang, and as of early this morning weighs 139.1 grams. He’s gained about 27.9 grams in the past 72 hours. Mei Xiang starting putting him down last night and trying to leave the den. The first few times she put him down he squealed, so she ran back in and picked him up. She finally left the den to urinate and defecate around 1:40 a.m. and returned to her cub at 1:42 a.m. It is normal for Mei Xiang to start spending short periods of time away from her cub. She will gradually increase her trips outside the den as he grows.

When SCBI scientists artificially inseminated Mei Xiang April 26 and April 27, they used frozen and thawed sperm from Hui Hi (a panda living in China) and fresh sperm from Tian Tian.

Our panda cub who died Wednesday afternoon was also a male and sired by Tian Tian.”

“Overnight it was evident to panda keepers and veterinarians that our healthy panda cub was active and nursing appropriately throughout the night. Mei is showing proper maternal care, which includes short sleep cycles, adjusting the tiny cub in her arms for better positioning and grooming. The panda team heard strong vocalizations from the cub and observed it a couple times during the night. The cub is growing more hair, its tail looks plump and the cub overall looks great.”

From the National Zoo:

“We are sad to announce that the smaller of the two panda cubs has died.

The panda team continues to monitor Mei Xiang and the larger cub. They are encouraged that this cub appears to be strong and behaving normally.”

Photo via Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

From the National Zoo:

“Mei Xiang has not been a willing participant in the panda team’s efforts to switch the cubs since 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. She has the larger cub in her possession. The panda team is caring for the smaller cub and will continue efforts to swap the cubs about every four hours. However, because the smaller cub has been away from Mei, the panda team is now managing it more intensely. The little cub’s behaviors are good. The team is concerned about its fluctuating weight since the cub is now more than 48 hours old. The most important thing for the panda team is to help the cub get enough fluids and nutrients. To accomplish this, they are bottle and tube feeding the cub. The cub has shown some signs of regurgitation which can lead to aspiration in such a tiny creature. To be prudent, the veterinarians are administering antibiotics to prevent possible infection. It’s very important to keep the cub hydrated so they are alternating an infant electrolyte solution with formula and administering fluids under the skin. The cub is urinating and defecating well. The veterinarians have not seen any sign of respiratory distress.

Our observations of the larger cub from yesterday indicate it is doing well and we’re confident Mei Xiang is taking very good care of it. We remain in a high-risk period.

We’ve received a lot of questions about the tiny size of the panda cubs. Bear cubs have the smallest infant-to-mother size ratio of any placental mammal at approx. 1 to 700. Mei Xiang currently weighs about 238 pounds. One of the cubs weighed 86 grams at birth, a 1 to 1,256 ratio of cub to mom. The larger cub weighed 138 grams at birth, a 1 to 783 ratio of cub to mom.”