Categories: U.S. News

Mei Xiang: Giant Panda Gives Birth to Twins at Smithsonian National Zoo

A female giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC has given birth to twin cubs after artificial insemination.

Keepers at the zoo only discovered Mei Xiang was pregnant during an ultrasound scan last week. The zoo said both cubs appeared healthy.

Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world and are notoriously hard to breed in captivity.

The National Zoo is one of only four zoos in the US to have pandas, which are on loan from China.

Mei Xiang, who has two other offspring, is one of the zoo’s star attractions and a Panda Cam on her enclosure crashed within seconds of the birth of the first cub being announced because of the volume of interest.

Female pandas are able to conceive for only two or three days a year, leading to a very low reproduction rate.

Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with two donors – the zoo’s resident male Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China.

It will not be known for a while which is the father, or what gender the cubs are.

It has previously taken months before Mei Xiang’s cubs have been introduced to the public.

AP news agency reports that her first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to China in 2010; her second cub, Bao Bao, is two years old on August 23 and still lives at the zoo.

The panda population is threatened by habitat loss as land is increasingly inhabited by humans, with about 1,800 pandas left in the wild in China.

However, the number living in the wild in China has gone up over the last 10 years.

Nancy Clayson

Nancy is a young, full of life lady who joined the team shortly after the BelleNews site started to run. She is focused on bringing up to light all the latest news from the technology industry. In her opinion the hi-tech expresses the humanity intellectual level. Nancy is an active person; she enjoys sports and delights herself in doing gardening in her spare time, as well as reading, always searching for new topics for her articles.

Recent Posts

Donald Trump and Elon Musk Celebrate Election Victory at UFC 309

Image source: Wikimedia Commons President-elect Donald Trump celebrated his election victory at the Ultimate Fighting…

5 days ago

White House 2024: Donald Trump Wins, Kamala Harris Calls Him to Concede Election

Millions of voters across the US chose to return Donald Trump to the White House…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Donald Trump Declares Victory as He Addresses Jubilant Supporters in Florida

Donald Trump declares victory in the US election as he addresses jubilant supporters in Florida.…

2 weeks ago

Stocks Soaring as Donald Trump Closes in on US Victory

Stocks around the world are rising as Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Kamala Harris Cancels Election Night Party as Path to Victory Narrows

Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia and taken a lead over Kamala…

2 weeks ago

Quincy Jones Dead at 91

Quincy Jones, the celebrated musician and producer who worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray…

2 weeks ago