Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2020

NOVAElephantEnthusiast said:
It seems they might be either bringing P-Horse back to NZP or setting up for some new type of Hoof Stock.
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When raising money they said it was so they could bring the Przewalski’s horses back.

Help Build a Beautiful Home for Przewalski’s Horses

ThylacineAlive said:
This has since been abandoned since Sichuan are already well-established in the US and the Smithsonian already breeds this species at the research facility,

~Thylo
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Do they? I know they've had them before but I'm not sure they do now. They're not on the SCBI species list on the website, granted I personally believe they leave out some.
 
Andrew_NZP said:
Do they? I know they've had them before but I'm not sure they do now. They're not on the SCBI species list on the website, granted I personally believe they leave out some.
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Could be they're gone, I was just going off of what they held around the time I learned all of this.

~Thylo
 
Panda Cub Watch

The pregnancy seems to be progressing well:

Mei Xiang, the 22-year-old matriarch of the Smithsonian's National Zoo panda program, is pregnant and could give birth any day, zoo officials say.

Mei Xiang's pregnancy is far enough along and the fetus is well developed enough that it would be rare for resorption to occur. A miscarriage or stillbirth is still possible, though.

Further complicating matters is Mei Xiang's age. At 22, she would be the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States. The oldest in the world was 23.

Full article here: Live panda cam shows pregnant Mei Xiang at National Zoo: How to watch

The zoo plans to live stream the birth:

Pandas do give some clues that they're about to give birth, "some more subtle than others. Amaral said restlessness is often observed as well as general straining from the animal. The panda may lick below her tail for a prolonged period, he added.

Panda cam: Giant Panda Cam
 
From the Zoos Facebook Page:

"Over the last hour, giant panda Mei Xiang has become increasingly restless and started body licking—both signs that labor has probably started! Our giant panda team is closely monitoring her via the Panda Cam for a cub’s arrival. Watch with us!"

Looks like she may be in labor. I believe camera two is the camera that looks into Mei Xiang den. Link is below.

Giant Panda Cam
 
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NOVAElephantEnthusiast said:
From the Zoos Facebook Page:

"Over the last hour, giant panda Mei Xiang has become increasingly restless and started body licking—both signs that labor has probably started! Our giant panda team is closely monitoring her via the Panda Cam for a cub’s arrival. Watch with us!"

Looks like she may be in labor, camera One is the camera that looks into Mei Xiang den. Link is below.

Giant Panda Cam
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Has the camera worked for you at all? I haven't gotten it to do anything other than a black screen, and a lot of people on facebook have been saying similarly.
 
TinoPup said:
Has the camera worked for you at all? I haven't gotten it to do anything other than a black screen, and a lot of people on facebook have been saying similarly.
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I was just in for about 5 minutes. If you give it a few refreshes it'll let you in. It seems they are having very heavy traffic. But thats to be expected.
 
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Andrew_NZP said:
Mei Xiang has given birth.

"Joyous news: a precious giant panda cub has arrived! Mei Xiang gave birth at 6:35 p.m. and is caring for her newborn attentively. Keepers are watching Mei Xiang’s behavior and hope to see her nurse the cub and cradle it close to keep him/her warm. They’re also listening for loud squeals, which are signs of a healthy cub."

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
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That's what I thought had happened, but wasn't sure if she was just licking again. Fingers crossed it survives.
 
NOVAElephantEnthusiast said:
It amazes me how quickly a panda fetus develops, considering they were so unsure last Friday.
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I knew it. :cool::p

Excellent news. Hopefully the fourth surviving cub to one of the most famous Giant panda breeding pairs in zoological history. This is in no small part due to the excellent work of the Smithsonian National Zoo - not just in their care for these pandas; but their dedication to keeping everyone up to date with their animals - their willingness to share their news (good and bad), all which enables us to form a connection with the individuals of the species they are working so hard to conserve.

I greatly look forward to following the journey of this latest cub, as I have with it’s siblings that came before; and as will millions of others around the world.

Congratulations from New Zealand, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I knew it. :cool::p
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No, you didn't :p You can't have known she was pregnant when she was not yet pregnant at the time :rolleyes: She did indeed become pregnant and has now given birth to a cub that will hopefully survive long-term, but that has nothing to do with you claiming she was pregnant BEFORE she was pregnant ;)

~Thylo
 
Glad to hear the panda birth went well. I just wanted to clear up a bit of confusion here on pregnancy in pandas (or other animals for that matter) -- any mammal with developing fetal tissue is pregnant, as both successful fertilization and implantation need to take place for fetal tissue to develop. Mei Xiong would have been pregnant for at least a couple months prior to birth. What the zoo was saying in its pre-birth announcement was that she was pregnant but they could not predict whether the fetus would be successfully carried to term. This is different from pseudo-pregnancy, where the female experiences hormonal and behavioral changes but there is never any actual fetal tissue.
 
I believe that there is only one sloth bear left at NZP and I haven't seen one on exhibit in a very long time. Everytime I walk by it and see how large and beautiful it is I think its a shame that there is no animal that goes on exhibit. Not sure if the zoo plans to keep sloth bears but I wanted to see what other species you all thought would fit well into it and also from Asia. Personally I think any cat (tiger, leopard, snow leopard) would do amazing in it.
 
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