Update: Twin Baby Pandas Born!

[shanbrite2]

abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/national-zoo-panda-mei-xiang-appears-labor-33250826

Oh Baby! National Zoo Says Panda Mei Xiang Has Given Birth


WASHINGTON —
AUG 22, 2015, 4:23 PM
by
JESSICA GRESKO
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The National Zoo in Washington says there's one more panda in the world after its female giant panda gave birth to a cub on Saturday.

Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson confirmed in an email that Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) gave birth to the cub at 5:35 p.m. If the cub survives, it would be the 17-year-old panda's third surviving offspring.

Mei Xiang's first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005. Her second cub, Bao Bao, turns 2-years-old on Sunday.

Keepers will be watching the newest cub closely. Pink, hairless and blind, newborn cubs weigh three to five ounces and are about the size of a stick of butter. The zoo has also had disappointments in the past. Mei Xiang gave birth to another stillborn cub in 2013. And in 2012, she gave birth to a cub that died after just six days. Its lungs hadn't fully developed.

Even if the new cub is healthy, panda fans shouldn't expect to see it in person for a while. After Mei Xiang's second cub Bao Bao was born in 2013, it was about 5 months before she made her public debut. Fans who want to see the newest panda will have to try to catch a glimpse of it on the zoo's online panda cam.

The public also won't learn immediately whether the cub is male or female or whether the zoo's male panda, Tian Tian, is the cub's father. It takes time to determine the tiny cub's gender and Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China, who was determined to be one of the best genetic matches.

The National Zoo is one of only four zoos nationwide to have pandas, which are on loan from China. But the Washington pandas have a history that makes them closely watched.

The zoo's first pair of pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were a gift from China following President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to the country. The pair had five cubs while living at the zoo but none survived.

The zoo's current pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the parents of both Bao Bao and Tai Shan, arrived in 2000. The pandas belong to China as do any cubs they have. The pair's first cub, Tai Shan, returned to China in 2010. Their second cub, Bao Bao, still lives at the National Zoo.

———

[earlgreyhot]

So they only confirmed that she most likely was pregnant (vs. only being psuedo-pregnant) earlier this week.

www.popville.com/2015/08/baby-panda-alert-they-believe-it-is-a-developing-giant-panda-fetus/

[Scout'sHonor]

Panda! I lure them so much.

[emisi]

Aug 22, 2015 18:23:22 GMT -5 earlgreyhot said:

So they only confirmed that she most likely was pregnant (vs. only being psuedo-pregnant) earlier this week.

www.popville.com/2015/08/baby-panda-alert-they-believe-it-is-a-developing-giant-panda-fetus/

Yeah, apparently pandas have fake pregnancies pretty often.

Yay panda babies!  That's two in two years.

[Cicero]

Well that explains why the giant pandas were off exhibit today.

[anastasia517]

Aug 22, 2015 20:28:30 GMT -5 emisi said:

Aug 22, 2015 18:23:22 GMT -5 earlgreyhot said:

So they only confirmed that she most likely was pregnant (vs. only being psuedo-pregnant) earlier this week.

www.popville.com/2015/08/baby-panda-alert-they-believe-it-is-a-developing-giant-panda-fetus/

Yeah, apparently pandas have fake pregnancies pretty often.

Yay panda babies!  That's two in two years.

Well, if I got a much better diet if I faked pregnancy in captivity I might too.  That, or pandas are smarter than I originally assumed and are just fucking with us.

I love pandas.

[shanbrite2]

Aug 22, 2015 22:26:29 GMT -5 anastasia517 said:

Aug 22, 2015 20:28:30 GMT -5 emisi said:

Yeah, apparently pandas have fake pregnancies pretty often.

Yay panda babies!  That's two in two years.

Well, if I got a much better diet if I faked pregnancy in captivity I might too.  That, or pandas are smarter than I originally assumed and are just fucking with us.

I love pandas.

I feel like I read somewhere that they do fake pregnancies because they get better food. Pandas ain't no dummies!

[mrsjrd23]

Twin pandas!!

[pugz]

TWINS!!!!!!! OMGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deleted]

I can't believe baby pandas are only 3-5 ounces. Hope they both survive!

[aprilsails]

Aug 23, 2015 4:26:01 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

I can't believe baby pandas are only 3-5 ounces. Hope they both survive!

This was also shocking to me. I feel like they probably have larger poops than this.

[pamela]

I'm always amazed that an animal so big has babies so tiny. Kangaroos too.

[anastasia517]

Twins born five hours apart!? You go mama panda.

At the panda exhibit at the Toronto Zoo they had displays showing how small baby pandas are and I agree, it is insane. They are so tiny compared to the adults... who, when we saw them were eating and sleeping respectively.

[shanbrite2]

Yay twins!!! I've heard baby pandas referred to as "butter sticks" because they are so tiny. How do the mamas not just squish them? Amazing!

[shanbrite2]

Sweet video of babies at link!

www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/second-panda-cub-born-zoo-180956377/


A Second Panda Cub is Born at the Zoo
After giving birth to one cub, the Zoo's 17-year-old female panda, hours later, delivers a second cub

Making a historic record—only the third time in the United States—Mei Xiang delivers twins. (National Zoo)
By Beth Py-Lieberman
SMITHSONIAN.COM

UPDATE August 23, 2015, 9:15 a.m.: In a news conference this morning at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., a tired, but enthusiastic team of panda biologists, keepers and veterinarians recounted the moment of the historic second birth of the living twin that 17-year-old Mei Xiang delivered last night at 10:07, less than five hours after the first cub was born.

While observing the mother and her cub on a monitor, panda biologist Laurie Thompson heard Mei Xiang give a grunting noise that was similar to the noise the animal had made when the first cub was born. “Out popped another,” Thompson said.

The team watched Mei Xiang as she handled the two cubs, but it became clear that she was struggling to manage both of her charges, so the decision was made to pull one of the cubs from the new mother’s den.

The second born cub was retrieved and weighed and then later the two cubs were swapped out so that they could both nurse from the mother.

The process was well studied in China when researchers visited the Wolong Breeding Center in China. Zoo officials frequently travel to China for training and sharing of critical care information. In fact, the panda team was in contact with the facility overnight working on care and protocol.

To swap panda cubs, one keeper reported: “We first tried to use high value items to distract her then we used a recording of the other cub vocalizing, but she wasn’t responsive to that.”

“Finally we used the actual cub we had to allow her to come to it.” Mei Xiang then placed the one cub she had down and moved over to pick up the other. Keepers then retrieved the first.

Significantly, today is Bao Bao’s second birthday. She was born on August 23, 2013 as a surviving cub of a set of twins. The other cub was still born. The only other pandas to deliver cubs in the United States were the National Zoo’s Ling Ling, which delivered a pair on July 23, 1987, but they did not survive. And at the zoo in Atlanta, the female panda Lun Lun delivered twins on July 15, 2013, but those did survive.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo reports that staff are providing round the clock care of the mother and her cubs and that a fresh team is reporting for duty after the exciting overnight events.

“Mei Xiang always throws us for a loop,” said one exhausted team member, but we’re going “on adrenaline,” she told the assembled media and crew this morning at the press event.

Last night at 11:30 p.m. via Twitter, Zoo officials confirmed the birth of a second cub—only the third time a giant panda living in the United States has given birth to twins. The second cub, the Zoo reports, is "vocalizing very well and appears healthy."

A team of three panda keepers was able to pull one of the cubs from the mother's den for an examination, but were unable to determine which cub it had. The cub was weighed—138 grams—and photographed, while the other remained in the female panda's care.

Keepers plan to swap one cub for the other so that each can nurse while the other is bottle fed and kept warm in an incubator.


Yesterday evening at 5:34, the Zoo's 17-year-old panda delivered the first of the two cubs and the event was recorded on the panda cam. Today, veterinarians examined the first cub. Here's video of the birth and the cub's examination. Stay tuned for further developments.






Read more: www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/second-panda-cub-born-zoo-180956377/#ZMyi6oluoWaFSgpR.99
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[turboteal]

I can't tell what is going on in those videos, after each cub is born. Is she licking them? Holding them in her mouth? I wish the videos were longer/had a better angle to see! They are both very vocal and seem healthy! Smaller and louder than I would have expected!

[turboteal]

Also, I love sharing this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lCKc8tURtc

It's a baby kangaroo, and it's amazing.