Mei Xang gave birth to her second panda over the weekend, after veterinarians heard the baby cub crying. They had not seen the cub until Monday morning. Mei Xang gave birth to the cub Sunday night. “We are giving Mei Xiang complete seclusion. Everybody is being very quiet, and it will be that way for a couple of weeks,” Associate Director of animal care sciences Don Moore told reporters. The cub is only 4 ounces, about the size of a stick of butter.
“Mei Xiang is behaving exactly the same way she did when Tai Shan was born,” says the zoo’s chief veterinarian. “She is cradling her cub closely, and she looks so tired, but every time she tries to lay down, the cub squawks and she sits right up and cradles the cub more closely. She is the poster child for a perfect panda mom.” Scientists thought Mei Xang might be pregnant back in August and performed weekly ultrasounds on Mei Xang. The cub will stay with its mother for four years until moving back to China for part of its breeding program.
