Rfalconcam Forum

It's been reported that Mei and Tian Tian have a new cubby!  The first since Tai Shan!

OMG!  I've been afraid to watch...so many years of disappointment...most excellent news!

Oh Happy Day...tears of joy this morning!!!!

 :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:   :mbanana: :bguitar: :mbanana: :bguitar:  :clap:

You guys should be in the DC market - this is a top news story

You say that like it's a bad thing LOL!  I saw Jeanne's note then I got it on FB.  NY news had NOTHING!

 :panda:

Wonderful news!!

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/National-Zoos-Giant-Panda-Gives-Birth-to-Cub-169997016.html (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/National-Zoos-Giant-Panda-Gives-Birth-to-Cub-169997016.html)



Also, Good Morning America just interviewed the head vet at the National Zoo (a phenomenal place, I might add) and she said Mei is the perfect panda parent!  The cub is loud and vocal! Mei tries to sleep but the cubby vocalizes and she immediately cradles him (or her)!

 :rofl: Giddy with happiness but now can't get the player to work with this MAC!  Bummer!!  So will have to rely on other ways of getting to see this new little one!  Watched alot the last time!!

I don't know if this will help, but I usually watch on Daniel's multi cam page...

http://home.comcast.net/~dreidel/pandacams/index.html (http://home.comcast.net/~dreidel/pandacams/index.html)

you can see both National Zoo cams & it auto-refreshes

30 minutes long, but worth it!

http://youtu.be/Erlts7n64W0 (http://youtu.be/Erlts7n64W0)

Sadly, with everything going on, it should be a bit further down the feed, of course this is the same market that believes the Deadskins are bound for the Superbowl with 1 win.

September 18

Glimpse of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Panda Cub
Smithsonian’s National Zoo staff and Panda Cam watchers have gotten several quick glimpses of female giant panda Mei Xiang’s cub. In this video, Sept. 17. at about 8:35 p.m. EST, Mei Xiang cradles the newborn and gently picks it up in her mouth as she shifts position. This is normal behavior and another sign that Mei Xiang is being an excellent mother to her new cub. By using her mouth, Mei Xiang can very gently and dexterously position her cub on her body so that she is able to nurse and groom it.

The cub actively squirms and vocalizes loudly in response—two good signs that the cub is healthy! Keepers report that Mei Xiang is exhibiting excellent maternal behaviors. She is prompt to cradle and groom the cub, and there is evidence that it is successfully nursing. The Zoo will continue to diligently monitor both bears over the Panda Cam and minimize disturbances around their den.

http://youtu.be/ltjs_-ULuA0 (http://youtu.be/ltjs_-ULuA0)

Very cute!  Thanks for posting!

http://youtu.be/vuC4gvzcUZY (http://youtu.be/vuC4gvzcUZY)


At about 7:54 a.m. Sept. 20, Mei Xiang gently picked the squealing cub up in her mouth before placing it on the ground to groom it.

Keepers continue to be encouraged by the cub’s activity and vocalizations—two signs that it is healthy. Mei Xiang is able to sleep for brief periods but promptly cradles, grooms and nurses her cub when it vocalizes. Zoo staff and volunteers are diligently monitoring both bears over the Panda Cam, minimizing disturbances around their den.

Last night Mei left the den for the first time.  We noticed she seemed awfully restless and was up and down from the platform and then I went to bed and this morning I find she left the den for about 3 minutes.  She drank some water, did her business and came back!

A panda fan video taped some of it and you can clearly see the cub is healthy and chubby.  The most amazing part is towards the end, when she is coming back - she vocalizes and bleats to the cubbie that she's on her way and cubbie answers back!  Here is a link to the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDtD7yDMZao# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDtD7yDMZao#)

Pray hard guys, Vet staff on site at NZ.  Cams are off and watchers reported Mei honking and cub not responding in the last half hour.  Watching now for updates.

Oh no...I hope cubbie is OK...

It doesn't sound good kitty, multiple Vets on site now.  Someone is there and texting the updates to us. 

Dammit!

Someone posted video of it but I don't have the heart right now to post the link.  The cub looked lifeless and Mei was crying and she picked it up and continued crying...I couldnt watch it to the end.

No news yet is the latest update from the zoo attendee. 

I'm trying to keep in mind that something similar happened to one of Lun Lun's cubs in Atlanta. They got it out & revived it...

Praying very very hard...

Yes it was Xi Lan but they responded very fast to his situation.  ZA went in pronto, the second Lun called for help they were on it.  There was a 40 minute delay here until he cams went down..

I know it's not easy to go in and grab a cub from a 260 pound bear and I hope they got to the cub in time. 

 :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:

He's gone, Washington Post is reporting it on their breaking news banner.

From NZ Facebook site:

We are broken-hearted to share that we have lost our little giant panda cub. Panda keepers and volunteers heard Mei Xiang make a distress vocalization at 9:17 a.m. and let the veterinarian staff know immediately. They turned off the panda cam and were able to safely retrieve the cub for an evaluation at 10:22 a.m., which we only do in situations of gravest concern. The veterinarians immediately performed CPR and other life-saving measures, but sadly the cub was unresponsive. We’ll have more updates as we learn more, but right now we know is that the cub weighed just under 100 grams and that there was no outward sign of trauma or infection. We’ll share information with you as we learn more.

Heartbroken...I can't imagine how the staff feel...and Mei Xiang...

 :crying:

Noo, I'm so heart-broken!  :crying:

If you can stand it, Mei is back on cam.  She's been alternating between digging in the boo looking for her cub, crying out, banging the walls and now she's got her head on the platform.

Hard to watch, but want to ensure she's okay.

I can't stop crying...don't think I can do that quite yet...but thanks for letting us know...

 :( Sweet baby and sweet mama :crying:

Very sad !

 :(

Good Grief!  100 Grams is what we hope our Siamese kittens will weigh at birth.  That's about the size of half a banana.  Such tiny babies are at a horrible disadvantage  :(
Carol
WV

Just posted on the National Zoo Panda page:

September 24

We’re still reeling from the loss of our giant panda cub, and we feel like the whole world is mourning with us. Our staff is anguished, which is to be expected. Every loss is hard but this one is especially devastating. Thank you so much for your outpouring of support. Your sentiments of support and understanding of our work helps tremendously when we have to get through tough times like this.

We still don’t know definitively what caused us to lose the giant panda cub yesterday, but we do have some more information since yesterday, especially from the necropsy (animal autopsy).

The giant panda cub appeared to be a female. She weighed a little less than 100 grams, which is about four ounces. There were no signs of trauma, external or internal, which means that she was not crushed—confirmation that Mei is a good mother. Her heart and lungs also looked good, which tells us that she did not suffocate. There was a little milk in the cub’s gastrointestinal tract, which tells us that she did successfully nurse. The only abnormalities the veterinarians have detected so far were some fluid in her abdomen and a slightly abnormal liver. They don’t know yet whether either of those things is significant, and they’re still investigating.

The panda team continues to monitor Mei Xiang, and will until she returns to her normal behavior. She appeared to sleep well last night. Watchers did notice her cradling an object, as she did before to the birth of the cub. We believe this is an expression of her natural mothering instinct.

Mei is moving around well this morning, and the panda team was able to weigh her.  She weighs 217 pounds, which is less than her regular weight but perfectly normal for a mother who hasn’t eaten in a while. (Mei had not left her den in over a week.) She ate a little this morning and drank some water. The panda team was able to get a vaginal culture from her, which they will check for signs of anything unusual. Once the tests results come back and we’re certain of her health, we will give her access to her outside yard and it will be up to her whether she wants to go outside. We fully anticipate that she’ll return to her normal wonderful giant panda self in a relatively short amount of time. Once she is out of her den and acting normally, we will open the Panda House. We’ll keep the panda cam on so our supporters and fans can continue to watch from around the world.

Many of you have asked about the future of these two bears at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Today, our immediate concern is for Mei Xiang’s well-being, and to understand what happened to the cub. We spoke to our Chinese colleagues yesterday and will continue to work very closely with them over the next few months. However, no decisions will be made until we have thoroughly discussed all options.

We will learn from this tragedy and hope we will gain a better understanding of giant panda reproduction and cub health as a result. Our next steps will be to share the information we’ve learned with our Chinese colleagues. We’ll continue to try to figure out what caused the cub’s death through microscopic and histological evaluation. As we know more, we’ll share it with you.

Thanks for posting this, Ei.  It is crushing that this poor cub passed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-zoo-to-announce-preliminary-findings-in-death-of-giant-panda-cub/2012/09/24/3499a6ec-0646-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-zoo-to-announce-preliminary-findings-in-death-of-giant-panda-cub/2012/09/24/3499a6ec-0646-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html)

Tears again...if I feel this badly I can't imagine how the keepers feel...

I hear you, Ei.  This is so very sad.  How loving those keepers are and how heartbroken :(

I couldn't handle it! The death of any animal is tragic but this baby was special!  :heart:

On FB today:

Smithsonian's National Zoo
Some of you have been asking about the behavior we’re seeing on the cam, Mei cradling her kong toy. Of course we can’t know the motivation behind her actions, but we do know that she cradled toys during each of her pseudopregnancies and also in the days leading up to the cub’s birth this year. From past research, we know that Ling-Ling would exhibit this behavior (along with other maternal behaviors such as grooming) for several days, up to a week, after she lost her cubs.

 :(

Good morning! We thought you might like an update on Mei Xiang. She slept well last night and is mostly sleeping this morning, as you can see on the cam. She has not expressed any interest in going outside. She is eating some bamboo, produce, and biscuits and her appetite is improving, though she's still only eating about a quarter of her usual amount of food. 

fb today

Time heals all wounds...