WASHINGTON — Today’s Most D.C. Thing comes to us from the panda at the National Zoo. It was 8 weeks ago Friday that Mei Xiang gave birth to D.C.’s newest giant panda cub.
Our little man, who doesn’t’ have a name yet, is a bit of a miracle baby being that mother Mei had less than a 1% chance of getting pregnant due to her age. She’s 22.
It’s reported that he’s growing into a feisty little character, hitting all his growth milestones. His eyes and ears are now open, and he’s begun to practice crawling under mom’s watchful eye. Liking what she sees she has begun taking him on little trips outside their enclosure.
He’s plumping up nicely, weighing in at a little over 5 pounds and measuring 15.9 inches around the waist. He’s becoming vocal, barking at the attendants measuring him. And he’s quite the little cutie pie.
Barring any issues, he’ll be here until he’s 4 years old, so there will be opportunities to pay him a visit in the future. After that, per agreement, he’ll be moving to China.