Community Corner

Happy Birthday, DC Baby Panda

National Zoo welcomes new panda late Sunday.

The female panda at Washington's National Zoo gave birth to a cub about 10:46 p.m. on Sunday.

The new baby was somewhat of a surprise to zoo officials, who suspected but could not confirm if Mei Xiang was pregnant.

Mei, 14, had been artificially inseminated in late April after she and the zoo’s male giant panda, Tian Tian, 15, failed to mate successfully on their own.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mei gave birth to her only other cub in 2005. She has had sevral false pregnancies since.

Read more details here and here, and check back for photos and videos when zoo officials have them.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here