Giant panda News

Scientists, veterinarians and keepers have been monitoring Mei Xiang closely for the past several months to determine if she is pregnant or experiencing a pseudopregnancy.

During the past several weeks, Bei Bei has been experiencing some gastrointestinal discomfort which has caused him to pass several mucous stools and loose stools.

Keepers are still waiting to find out if giant panda Mei Xiang is pregnant. She has not started exhibiting many behaviors associated with the secondary hormone rise of a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy.

Make the most of your time out of the office with a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo!

Roughly a month and a half after Mei Xiang’s artificial insemination, things at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat are settling into their regular routine.

Listed below are events being held June through August as part of the “Dino Summer” experience at Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute performed an artificial insemination on giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) March 28.

On March 15, Mei Xiang started exhibiting behavioral signs that breeding season is approaching!

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo was created in 1889 and opened its doors in 1891. To celebrate its 130th anniversary, look back at how the Zoo has evolved through the years.

On Feb. 23, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China hosted a housewarming party, sponsored by Airbnb, to celebrate the new exhibit for visitors inside the Zoo’s giant panda house.

Snow in Washington, D.C. today, Feb. 20, brought out the playful side of the giant pandas at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

You’re invited to a housewarming celebration! The new visitor interpretive exhibit in the panda house is finished and we would love for everyone to come visit and see it.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China will host a housewarming, sponsored by Airbnb, to celebrate the new exhibit for visitors inside the panda house.

The shutdown didn’t shutdown giant panda playtime! During the past three-and-a-half weeks Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Bei Bei have carried on with their daily routines.

If you plant it, they will come. A collaborative research team including scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Guanyinshan Nature Reserve and Tsinghua University has established four bamboo restoration plots with the ambitious goal of accelerating the return of pandas to...

The New Year will bring in some new changes to the panda house. Beginning Dec. 5, the panda house at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat may occasionally close during weekday mornings to allow for the installation of a brand new exhibit!

Three-year-old giant panda played and tumbled in the snow Thursday, Nov. 15.

Carve your Halloween pumpkin to look like giant panda Bei Bei today with this downloadable stencil!

Giant panda Bei Bei celebrated his third birthday Aug. 22 with a special ice cake.

Bei Bei turned 3 years old today! In celebration of his big day, Bei Bei enjoyed an ice-cake, participated in an enrichment painting session and received a new panda-friendly enrichment toy.

A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and animal keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute have determined that giant panda Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) will not give birth this year.

The exhibits team built the hammocks from sturdy firehose and installed them. There has been a hammock in Bei Bei’s enclosure for several years, but it was starting to show some wear-and-tear as it’s been a favorite resting spot for him and Bao Bao when she lived there.

Beginning today, June 24, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be closed to keep a quiet area around female giant panda Mei Xiang’s den.

The panda team has started seeing more pronounced behavioral changes in Mei Xiang, which is normal and expected for a pregnant or pseudopregnant giant panda. Overall, she is spending more time sleeping and is less responsive to the keepers.

In honor of the Washington, D.C. Capitals making the NHL finals, the Smithsonian's National Zoo's giant panda Tian Tian was given a special treat of a bamboo hockey stick, ice puck and a fruitsicle star!