Aug. 24, 2013
At 7:29 p.m. this evening, Mei Xiang gave birth to a second, stillborn cub. Keepers watching Mei on the panda cam saw her groom it for 17 minutes. When she stopped grooming, it fell from Mei's body onto the floor of the den. It lay motionless and made no sound. Throughout, staff could see the first cub and hear it squealing. Mei never set it down. Staff retrieved the motionless cub with a grabbing device. It was immediately evident that the cub had developmental abnormalities and wasn't fully formed. It was never alive. A necropsy is underway. Mei's first cub continues to do well.