On Friday, the Washington Zoo announced the birth of a “precious little giant panda”, four years after his mother’s last pregnancy, the giant panda Mei Shang.
The Simisonian National Zoo wrote on Twitter that the new mother was showing typical behavior of a mother panda by “looking after and cuddling her baby.”
“We are pleased to announce that Mei Chiang gave birth to her baby at 1835 pm, and she is caring for her newborn baby,” she said, pointing out that the mother and her little one “appear healthy.”
Since the two pandas arrived in the park in 2000, Mei Shang has given birth to three pups: the two male Tai Shan in 2005, Bai Bai in 2015 and the female Bao Bao in 2013.
The three youngsters were returned to China upon reaching the age of four, under a partnership contract under which the ownership of these animals would return to China. Mei Shang and Tian Tian will return to China in December.
Under the US-China agreement, the National Zoo in Washington pays $ 500,000 annually to fund efforts to preserve pandas in China.
There are fewer than 2,000 animals of the giant panda family still living in their natural habitats in China, while about 600 other pandas of the same species live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, according to the Washington Zoo
