Giant Panda Cam: Smithsonian's National Zoo On Baby Alert

WASHINGTON, DC — In a welcome bit of good news amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Smithsonian's National Zoo this week announced that giant panda matriarch Mei Xiang is pregnant and could give birth as early as this week.

"We need this! We totally need this joy," zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said. "We are all in desperate need of these feel-goods."

While the panda house at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat is currently closed to provide quiet for Mei Xiang, the panda team has started 24-hour-a-day behavior watch on their Panda Cams.

If you're excited for Mei Xiang's new addition, keep your eye on the zoo's giant panda-cam.

Since the baby announcement, Panda Cam viewership has increased 800 percent.

Though the zoo reopened on a limited basis July 24, all indoor exhibits, including the popular panda house, have remained closed. Visitors can still view the outdoor panda enclosure, but Mei Xiang has mostly stayed indoors, creating a nest out of branches.

Mei Xiang has given birth to three surviving panda cubs: Bei Bei, Tai Shan and Bao Bao. All three have returned to China as part of an agreement that stipulates all cubs born at the zoo be sent to China when they are 4 years old.

READ MORE: National Zoo Panda Mei Xiang Pregnant, Birth Could Come In Days