Mei Xiang Update: July 2019

We are still waiting to find out if giant panda Mei Xiang is pregnant or not! She has not started exhibiting many behaviors associated with the secondary hormone rise of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy. Although we’ve seen some nest-building behaviors, before the end of the month we expect that to increase. She’ll spend more time sleeping and become sensitive to noise.

Veterinarians are conducting ultrasounds every week, but it is still too early to determine if she is pregnant. However, it is helpful for them to track changes in her reproductive tract and make her as comfortable with the procedure as possible, which may increase the chances that she will continue to participate in them even after she starts showing behavioral changes. The only way to definitively tell if Mei Xiang is pregnant before she gives birth is to detect a developing fetus on an ultrasound.