National Zoo Welcomes Panda Cub

Mei Xiang gives birth to long-awaited second cub
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 17, 2012 6:00 AM CDT
National Zoo Welcomes Panda Cub
Mei Xiang, the female giant panda at the National Zoo in Washington, eats breakfast Monday, Dec. 19, 2011.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

After five consecutive false pregnancies since 2007, the National Zoo finally has a little panda bundle of joy: The zoo's giant panda female, Mei Xiang, gave birth to a cub last night at 10:46pm, reports the AP. Zoo staffers have yet to see the cub, which is ensconced in a nest Mei Xiang built, but they can hear it. Mei Xiang last gave birth in 2005 to Tai Shan; he was sent to China in 2010. The new cub, like Tai Shan, was fathered by Tian Tian via artificial insemination. (More Mei Xiang stories.)

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