Giant Panda Mom Rejecting Smaller Twin Cub, National Zoo Officials Say

PHOTO: Keeper Stacey Tabellario bottle feeds the smaller of the two giant panda cubs. Photo by Shellie Pick, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

___________

The National Zoo reports that Giant Panda mom Mei Xiang “has not been a willing participant” in caring for the smaller of her twin panda cubs born Saturday.

Zoo veterinarians had planned to switch out the cubs every four hours so each could spend equal amounts of time with their mother.

Mama panda Mei Xiang has the larger cub in her possession, zoo officials said in an update on their Web site, and the panda team is caring for the smaller cub and will continue efforts to swap the cubs about every four hours. Here are more details, from the Zoo’s update:

Smaller cub

However, because the smaller cub has been away from Mei, the panda team is now managing it more intensely. The little cub’s behaviors are good. The team is concerned about its fluctuating weight since the cub is now more than 48 hours old.

The most important thing for the panda team is to help the cub get enough fluids and nutrients. To accomplish this, they are bottle and tube feeding the cub. The cub has shown some signs of regurgitation which can lead to aspiration in such a tiny creature.

To be prudent, the veterinarians are administering antibiotics to prevent possible infection. It’s very important to keep the cub hydrated so they are alternating an infant electrolyte solution with formula and administering fluids under the skin. The cub is urinating and defecating well. The veterinarians have not seen any sign of respiratory distress.

Larger cub

Our observations of the larger cub from yesterday indicate it is doing well and we’re confident Mei Xiang is taking very good care of it. We remain in a high-risk period.

We’ve received a lot of questions about the tiny size of the panda cubs. Bear cubs have the smallest infant-to-mother size ratio of any placental mammal at approximately 1 to 700. Mei Xiang currently weighs about 238 pounds. One of the cubs weighed 86 grams at birth, a 1 to 1,256 ratio of cub to mom. The larger cub weighed 138 grams at birth, a 1 to 783 ratio of cub to mom.

Additional help

Asia Trail keepers (who successfully hand-reared a sloth bear named Remi last year), additional veterinarian staff and a panda keeper from Zoo Atlanta have been well integrated into the panda team. The entire Zoo community appreciates the outpouring of well-wishes from around the world.

Follow #PandaStory on Instagram (@SmithsonianZoo) and Twitter (@NationalZoo) for the latest updates. If the giant panda cam cannot connect due to high-demand, download the Zoo’s app (App Store or Google Play) to get access to all of the Zoo’s animal cams.

Do you have a news tip? Please email: maryann.barton@patch.com