Mei Xiang - A Cub Is Born To Giant Panda At National Zoo - The Associated Press

(AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) A womans large panda at the Smithsonian's National Zoo is really a mother for any next time, giving birth to your cub.

The beginning overdue Sunday by simply Mei Xiang has been your surprise after a lot of were unable pregnancies.

Mei Xiang gifted birth at 10:46 p.m., the zoo said. The personnel might hear the actual cub making a squawking noise, nevertheless includes yet to view it mainly because Mei Xiang features constructed a sizable home in the girl den. Panda cubs are generally lilac and also nearly hairless and in relation to the size and style of a remain of butter.

"I'm properly optimistic since many of us have not observed this cub yet, but we are aware that Mei is a superb mother. Like everybody else, I'm glued towards the panda cam intended for my own initial glimpse involving the actual cub!" Dennis Kelly, the zoo's director, stated in the information release.

The cub is a next blessed to help Mei Xiang plus Tian Tian for the reason that result with unnatural insemination. Mei Xiang features possessed several consecutive pseudopregnancies considering 2007 in addition to experienced a just one eight percent possibility of having a baby immediately after a lot of hit a brick wall attempts. A pseudopregnancy comes about whenever a panda ovulates but does not conceive.

Scientists along at the zoo possessed almost all but assigned in place on Mei Xiang's probabilities with conceiving. They worried your lover had turn into infertile and have been taking into consideration whether to replace her and also Tian Tian by using some other pandas.

Veterinarians will perform the very first actual physical examination following Mei Xiang plus the cub have experienced time frame that will bond, the particular zoo said. The fresh the mother will certainly most probably not really emerge of the woman's den, or perhaps take in or even drink, regarding at least a week.

Mei Xiang's first cub, Tai Shan, was given birth to with july 2004 and received a new near-rockstar using prior to being arrived to China inside 2010. Under the particular Smithsonian's panda loan agreement, any kind of cub given birth to at the actual zoo must resume China intended for breeding.

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would be the subsequent panda small number to measure in the national zoo. The first panda pair, Ling-Ling in addition to Hsing-Hsing, got here within 1972 like a product into the American folks once President Richard Nixon's historical visit to help China. Ling-Ling plus Hsing-Hsing enjoyed over something like 20 a long time in the zoo and had personal training cubs, however probably none analysts survived.

The zoo's online panda camera: