Giant panda News

It's been a big week for Bao Bao! She got her name on Sunday, thanks to the more than 120,000 votes cast. She now weighs a whopping 12.76 pounds! Keepers have noticed her putting bamboo in her mouth in an exploratory sort of way, though she's not eating yet. Mei is beginning to take Bao Bao out of...

Transcurridos 100 días y con más de 123.039 votos recibidos, la cría de panda gigante del Zoológico Nacional Smithsonian ha recibido su nombre —Bao Bao— hoy, domingo 1 de diciembre. El secretario del Smithsonian, Wayne Clough, el embajador de la República Popular China, Cui Tiankai, y la secretaria...

After 100 days and 123,039 votes, the giant panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo received her name today. The cub's name is: Bao Bao! Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, Ambassador Cui Tiankai from the People's Republic of China and Assistant Secretary Kerri-Ann Jones from the U.S. Department...

Today was another weigh-in day! The cub now weighs 10.8 pounds (4.9 kilos). And keepers have noticed that she is responding to the noises she hears. When they enter the den to take her for weights and measurements, she orients herself toward them. They also have been talking more when they are...

The panda cub is taking small steps! Over the weekend and yesterday cam watchers may have noticed that she has been able to get her hind legs underneath her and stand up. She hasn't gotten very far yet though, she's only takes a few steps before sitting back down and crawling. On Sunday she almost...

The panda cub was weighed and measured again this morning! She now weighs 9.68 pounds (4.4 kilos). She is still very round measuring 18.11 inches (46 centimeters) around her belly. But her nose is starting to lose its pink color and turn black like an adult panda nose. She is also crawling with a...

Our panda cub is growing bigger and bigger! She now weighs a hefty 8.14 pounds, and her tail is starting to shrink relative to the size of her body. And keepers report that they are starting to see ridges where her teeth will erupt. The cub devotes a lot of energy to scooting and crawling around the...

The Smithsonian's National Zoo is asking for help to name its female giant panda cub. Panda fans can vote for their favorite name on Smithsonian.com beginning today, Election Day, at 2 p.m. EST until November 22. The winning name will be revealed at a ceremony Dec. 1, when the cub is 100 days old...

This week's giant panda update was written by giant panda keeper Nicole MacCorkle. Mei Xiang is now venturing outside for breakfast, and is spending up to two hours away from the cub at a time. As the cub matures that time will increase, and eventually mother and cub will be comfortable spending...

The giant panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo has gained almost another pound since Friday, Oct. 18, weighing in at 6.73 pounds (3.06 kilograms), and received her first vaccine at her veterinary exam this morning. Veterinarians reported that the cub is very healthy, and despite receiving a...

The gates at the Smithsonian's National Zoo will open to the public Friday, October 18! The live animal cams were turned off during the government shutdown, including the panda cams. The Zoo's Information Technology staff began the process of bringing the live animal cams back online Thursday...

On Saturday, Mei came out of her den in the morning looking for food as soon as keepers arrived. That's the first time she's done that since the cub was born, which tells keepers that her appetite is returning to normal. Lately, she's been waiting until they place bamboo in her enclosure before she...

The panda team was able to perform another full veterinary exam on the cub today. Mei Xiang is routinely coming out of her den in the mornings to eat bamboo and drink. This morning when she left her den, the panda team closed the door that connects the den to her adjacent enclosure and retrieved the...

Mei Xiang has started putting the cub down for longer periods of time! Over the weekend and this morning when the keepers entered her den to continue their den-training routine, Mei placed the cub on the ground and focused on the keepers the entire time. She drank all the diluted apple juice keepers...

Our panda cub is 4 weeks old today — and what a difference a few weeks makes! Keepers say that it looks like she has eye markings shaped like Mei Xiang's and her back saddle is shaped like Tian Tian's. And she is growing exponentially. One of the keepers at her veterinary exam on Monday exclaimed...

The giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Aug. 23 received her first veterinary exam late yesterday afternoon and was given a clean bill of health. Mei Xiang, who has spent much of the past three and a half weeks cradling her cub, put her down and left her den at 4:11 p.m. The panda...

Mei Xiang and her cub are still doing well! Keepers and veterinarians expect that Mei will begin leaving her den for longer periods of time soon. When she does leave the den for longer periods of time keepers and veterinarians hope to be able to perform another health check on the cub. In the...

Mei Xiang and the cub continue to do well. Over the weekend, Mei left her den for a few minutes several times, once to get a drink of water. Keepers are starting to do some training with Mei Xiang in her den (as opposed to just feeding her) in an effort to facilitate our efforts to collect milk and...

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics confirmed that our giant panda cub is female! A paternity analysis showed that the Zoo's panda Tian Tian is the cub's father. Scientists also confirmed the second, stillborn cub Mei Xiang...

This morning, Mei Xiang was very alert when the panda keepers walked into her den and looked eager for her morning drink. She drank 64 ounces of water right away. She did turn down all offers of food (a frozen bamboo shoot and sugar cane). She seems to be enjoying her "den service!"

Last night at 6:15 p.m., Mei Xiang left her den. She climbed up the rockwork mountain in her adjoining exhibit, urinated, and returned to the den at 6:18. It's normal for bears not to eat, drink, urinate, or defecate much in the early days of raising a cub. This morning, she drank a little diluted...

Last night, Mei Xiang left her den at 10:37 p.m. to get a drink from the water in her enclosure for the first time since the cub was born. She drank for about two minutes before returning to the den and the cub. The panda team got a good look at the cub in the den and it looks great. You can see the...

The panda team offered Mei Xiang liquids and food this morning and evening. She was not interested in eating or drinking and remains very focused on her cub. She is an excellent mother. We get better visuals on the cub every day. It continues to look good, and today we got several good looks at its...

This morning, the panda team offered Mei Xiang apple water, a bamboo smoothie, some bamboo, sugar cane and a pear. She was not interested in eating or drinking anything. Keepers are not worried about her lack of appetite: When she had Tai Shan, she did not eat anything until he was 16 days old, and...

Keepers went into Mei Xiang's den again this morning to offer her some food and drink. She drank some water sweetened with a little apple juice, which she has done for the past several days. Food still doesn't appeal to her much, which is normal for a bear that recently gave birth. She didn't touch...