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

WASHINGTON, DC — Zookeepers at Smithsonian's National Zoo are on baby alert after concluding that giant panda matriarch Mei Xiang is pregnant and could give birth this week. It’s a welcome bit of good news amid a pandemic that kept the zoo shuttered for months.

“We need this! We totally need this joy,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said. “We are all in desperate need of these feel-goods.”Although so-called “phantom pregnancies” are common with pandas and other large bears, Baker-Masson said an ultrasound scan revealed a “really strong-looking, fantastic fetus” that could be delivered this week.

Veterinarians detected tissue consistent with fetal development during giant panda Mei Xiang’s ultrasound on Aug. 14. It is too early to determine if the tissue is a completely viable developing fetus, as there is the potential that the fetus could be resorbed, experts posted on the National Zoo website.

If the fetal tissue continues to develop, veterinarians estimate that Mei Xiang could give birth within the next few days.

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

Viewership on the zoo’s panda-cam has increased 800 percent.

The zoo reopened on a limited basis July 24, with restrictions in place to keep the crowds down. However, all indoor exhibits, including the popular panda house, have remained closed. Visitors can still view the outdoor panda enclosure, but Mei has mostly been staying indoors, creating a nest out of branches, the Associated Press reported.

Panda births are inherently tricky, with stillbirths and miscarriages happening frequently. There is also a phenomenon called “resorption” whereby the fetus is unexpectedly absorbed back into the mother’s body. Baker-Masson said that is rare with a fetus this well-developed, AP reported.

Another potential complication is the age of Mei, which at 22 would be the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States. The oldest in the world gave birth in China at age 23.

Last September the zoo was disappointed to learn that Mei Xiang had been experiencing a pseudopregnancy for several months.

"Giant pandas' behavior and hormones mimic a pregnancy even if they are experiencing a pseudopregnancy," the Smithsonian said in September 2019. However, further investigation revealed no sign of a developing fetus on ultrasounds.

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.

Giant pandas are considered a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are an estimated 1,800 in the wild.