Mei Xiang Gives Birth at the Smithsonian National Zoo

Giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo on Friday, August 23 at 5:32 p.m. The panda team heard the cub vocalize and glimpsed the cub for the first time briefly immediately after the birth. Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and began cradling and caring for it.Behavior watchers have been monitoring her 24 hours a day since Aug. 7 via the panda cams.