National Zoo's Giant Panda Cub Twins 'Appear Healthy'

The National Zoo’s two Giant Panda cubs born Saturday ”appear healthy,” the zoo said in an update posted to their Web site.

The cubs were born Saturday, with the first giant panda cub born at 5:35 p.m. and a second giant panda cub was born at 10:07 p.m.

Shortly after the second birth, a panda team of three keepers retrieved one of the cubs per the Zoo’s Giant Panda Twin Hand-Rearing protocol, the zoo said. The cub was placed in an incubator and cared for by veterinarians and panda keepers.

“The cub is vulnerable at this tiny size but we know Mei is an excellent mother,” zoo director Dennis Kelly said at a news conference.

The panda team believes the first cub they retrieved was the second cub born at 10:07 p.m., they said.

Cub born at 10:07 p.m.

This cub continues to vocalize very well and appears healthy, the zoo noted in its update. It weighed 138 grams Saturday night and Sunday morning weighed 132.4 grams, the zoo said. The cub has urinated and defecated - all good signs, the zoo points out. The team fed the cub three times overnight Sunday, at 2:20 a.m., 3:40 a.m., and 5 a.m.

The cub received 30 - 40 percent of the serum it was hand-fed. The serum was banked from blood drawn from Mei Xiang last April during the artificial insemination, the zoo noted. The nursing bouts were short but the team considers them successful. The goal was to give the cub antibodies (colostrum alternative) as it has not yet nursed on Mei Xiang. This cub has now been marked with a little green food coloring on its left hip.

Swapping cubs with mom Mei Xiang

At approximately 6:30 a.m. Sunday, the panda team was able to swap cubs. The cub that was first spending time with Mei Xiang, believed to be the first born, weighs 86.3 grams, the zoo said. It is vocalizing very well and appears strong they noted. The panda team said they did not plan to feed this cub as it was set to be switched back to Mei Xiang in a couple of hours. However, they said they were prepared to feed the cub if it demonstrates certain behaviors.

Panda formula

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is one of a few zoos with expert nutritionists on staff, they pointed out. They have prepared formula and trained for this scenario. Formula ingredients include: water; human baby formula; and puppy formula. The ingredients are mixed together and strained to omit clumps. The zoo’s concern now is whether Mei Xiang will allow the panda team to consistently swap the cubs. The team developed a few different strategies and will continue to try different methods of swapping and hand-rearing. A lot will be dictated by Mei Xiang, the zoo noted.

The panda team will alternately swap the cubs, allowing one to nurse and spend time with Mei Xiang while the other is being bottle fed and kept warm in an incubator. The primary goal for the panda team is for both cubs to have the benefit of nursing and spending time with their mother. It is too early to guess about when the cubs will be placed together.

Twins

Giant pandas give birth to twins approximately 50 percent of the time. This is only the third time a giant panda living in the United States has given birth to twins. There are only two other female giant pandas who have successfully reared twins and it required a lot of human support.

Sibling Bao Bao

Giant panda Bao Bao celebrated her second birthday Sunday at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The Zoo’s nutrition department crafted a frozen “fruitsicle” cake comprised of some of Bao Bao’s favorite treats, including honey, apple juice, apple sauce, bamboo, carrots and beet juice.

The Zoo will continue to provide daily updates on Mei Xiang through its @SmithsonianZoo Instagram account using #PandaStory, and the Giant Panda e-newsletter.

Photo Credit: Pamela Baker-Masson, Smithsonian’s National Zoo