It's a boy and Tian Tian..you ARE the father!  


http://abcnews.go.com/US/surviving-national-zoo-panda-cub-male/story?id=33379739

WOO HOO! Made my goal! Thank you everyone who has supported me!

Still 2 days left...plenty of time for more if anyone wants to donate!

           

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From NZ just now:

We are sad to announce that the smaller of the two panda cubs has died. The panda team continues to monitor Mei Xiang and the larger cub. They are encouraged that this cub appears to be strong and behaving normally.

 

Just read that on FB..so sad that the little one didn't make it.   

Not going as smoothly as it did with Lun and the twins..paws crossed both survive.

I'm thinking it may actually turn out to be better this way. The first born is so much smaller than the other one...I wonder if it isn't premature. It may be the one that they saw on the ultrasound and expected it to be born 8/28 or so based on its size.

I personally have always thought that the one who didn't survive a few years ago was premature. It seemed to me at the time that it's birth took everyone by surprise.

They'll be better able to intervene if they have the cub in hand.

I had the same thought, especially if they suspect regurgitation..better to have hands on the more fragile of the two, just in case. I wonder if Mei doesn't know the difference between Cubs and feels the larger has a better survival chance thus not allowing a switch. That widget is so darn cute!   

It's a beautiful park..so picturesque by the river.

I can't copy the picture from instagram, but this update was posted there...

Mei Xiang has not been a willing participant in the panda team’s efforts to switch the cubs since 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon. She has the larger cub in her possession. The panda team is caring for the smaller cub and will continue efforts to swap the cubs about every four hours. However, because the smaller cub has been away from Mei, the panda team is now managing it more intensely. The little cub’s behaviors are good. The team is concerned about its fluctuating weight since the cub is now more than 48 hours old. The most important thing for the panda team is to help the cub get enough fluids and nutrients. To accomplish this, they are bottle and tube feeding the cub. The cub has shown some signs of regurgitation which can lead to aspiration in such a tiny creature. To be prudent, the veterinarians are administering antibiotics to prevent possible infection. It’s very important to keep the cub hydrated so they are alternating an infant electrolyte solution with formula and administering fluids under the skin. The cub is urinating and defecating well. The veterinarians have not seen any sign of respiratory distress.

Our observations of the larger cub from yesterday indicate it is doing well and we’re confident Mei Xiang is taking very good care of it. We remain in a high-risk period.

We’ve received a lot of questions about the tiny size of the panda cubs. Bear cubs have the smallest infant-to-mother size ratio of any placental mammal at approx. 1 to 700. Mei Xiang currently weighs about 238 pounds. One of the cubs weighed 86 grams at birth, a 1 to 1,256 ratio of cub to mom. The larger cub weighed 138 grams at birth, a 1 to 783 ratio of cub to mom.

Asia Trail keepers (who successfully hand-reared a sloth bear named Remi last year), additional veterinarian staff and a panda keeper from Zoo Atlanta have been well integrated into the panda team. The entire Zoo community appreciates the outpouring of well-wishes from around the world.

Not going as smoothly as it did with Lun and the twins..paws crossed both survive.

Thank you my friends!

        Hope you make your goal..great cause!

I hope so too...thanks for getting me started!

 

Thank you my friends!

        Hope you make your goal..great cause!

Good cause. I'm in.

Now if we could just find a cure for those brain-damaged individuals who shoot falcons.

Sadly, they're a hopeless cause.

https://m.facebook.com/nationalzoo?ref=tn_tnmn

Second cub birth video on Facebook! I think I finally reconnected after #2 was born and I had no idea what had happened. 

Oh my gosh!  Twins!  We might be making another Panda visit next year!   

Birth video!

http://youtu.be/JnXDXjcfllQ

WE HAVE A CUB!!!

Pooh..went swimming and missed it!  Yay for Mei!   

[From the National Zoo: Our panda team believes Mei Xiang is in labor! She is restless, having contractions, body licking and remains in her den—all behaviors consistent with an imminent birth. We are monitoring Mei very closely through the web cams and are hoping for a healthy cub. It could take several hours or longer for Mei to give birth. If you tune in to the panda cams you can watch along with our panda team.]

From the National Zoo:

Our panda team believes Mei Xiang is in labor! She is restless, having contractions, body licking and remains in her den—all behaviors consistent with an imminent birth. We are monitoring Mei very closely through the web cams and are hoping for a healthy cub. It could take several hours or longer for Mei to give birth. If you tune in to the panda cams you can watch along with our panda team.

    Hope everything goes OK for Mei! 

Maybe DC?

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