For Media: Weekly Giant Panda Cub Update from the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Aug. 29—Mei Xiang ate for the first time since giving birth. Keepers left sugarcane in her den for her, which she chose to eat around 1 p.m. She put her cub down for a few minutes while eating, giving panda cam viewers an excellent view of him. His black markings have started coming in around his eyes, ears and back. He also picked up his head and grunted (which is a happy noise) while Mei ate.
Sept. 1—Mei Xiang decided to eat some sugarcane and drink dilute apple juice keepers left for her yesterday evening, Aug. 31, around 6 p.m. Two hours later, she left the den to urinate and defecate—only the second time she's done so since giving birth. She put the cub down when she left the den and he was very quiet until she returned. Keepers expect that she will become more comfortable leaving her cub in the den for increasingly longer periods of time to eat and drink over the next few weeks. While Mei Xiang was away the panda cams captured close up video of the cub.
