Washington: Animal lovers rejoice: Mei Xiang, a 22-year-old giant panda at the National Zoo in Washington, DC will give birth in a matter of days, according to zoo officials, in what could be her fourth successful pregnancy.
The event is a much-needed bit of good news for the National Zoo, which had to close for months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mei Xiang, the female giant panda at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington.Credit:AP
On Monday, the zoo posted a video of the giant panda’s ultrasound on its social media channels that captured the fetus in motion and confirmed the pregnancy.
“As soon as I saw this image of the infant fetus with a beating heart and the skeletal structures, I’m like, all right, not only do we have a really good picture, but we’ve got movement,” Don Neiffer, the zoo’s chief veterinarian told Reuters on Tuesday. “Yesterday was definitely a good day.”