The National Zoo's panda Mei Xiang gave birth Friday afternoon after approximately two hours of labor, and zookeepers say another cub may be on the way.
The first cub was born at approximately 5:30 p.m., and officials say there is about a 50 percent chance another cub may be on its way within five or six hours. However, late Friday evening, Mei had not given birth to another cub, decreasing chances of two cubs.
Zoo officials in Washington, D.C. report Mei immediately picked the cub up and started cradling it. The sex of the cub will be determined in about two or three weeks, and the cub will stay unnamed for about 100 days. Zookeepers say they will keep their eyes on the cub at all times during the next few months to ensure it's thriving.
"We're going to be tense for the next two or three months," director of the National Zoo Dennis Kelly said Friday during a news conference.
Mei Xiang had been on a 24-hour pregnancy watch since Aug. 7 when she began cradling her toys, licking her body and "nesting." She was artificially inseminated twice March 30 after failing to breed naturally with the zoo's male panda Tian Tian. Officials say Mei and the cub will be in isolation for the next few months.
It's not clear who will be the proud father: Mei was inseminated with previously frozen semen from both Tian Tian and Gao Gao, a panda at the San Diego Zoo.
Mei Xiang has given birth to two cubs in the past. A female cub, born last September, lived only six days. Her birth was a surprise; she had not shown up on any ultrasounds. An autopsy determined she may have been born prematurely. Mei Xiang's only surviving cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and now lives in China.
According to an agreement with the Chinese government, the cub will stay at the National Zoo for four years and will then be sent to China.
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