Giant Panda Update Aug 30, 2015

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.