Pandas are too cute to be real. Sometimes I convince myself that they are some grand prank China is playing on the world and every panda is just a dude in a costume.
And then a zoo somewhere announces the birth of a new panda cub and I'm reminded that yes, giant pandas are real animals, because the world is a very weird place.
Since it can be very difficult to tell if a panda is pregnant, it took an ultrasound to confirm that fetal tissue was developing.
Mei Xiang had been artificially inseminated back in March as part of continued conservation efforts for the species.
Mei Xiang was a doting mom and the staff left the parenting to her in those first critical weeks. They waited until Mom was confidently leaving the baby inside while she left for food, performing a first exam in the few minutes Mei Xiang was gone.
Staff are now able to perform weekly exams, entering the den only when Mei Xiang is in the outside enclosure.
Now that the little guy's eyes and ears have opened up, they have one word to describe him: feisty.
He's growing like a weed, too. At seven weeks, he was over five pounds and his woolly fur had come in almost entirely.
Mom has also begun to take him on "field trips" out into the enclosure, letting him explore for short periods under her watchful eye.
