And then there were two!
Hours after
giving birth to a cub, giant panda Mei Xiang delivered a second one Saturday
night, the Smithsonian's National Zoo announced.
"We can
confirm a second cub was born at 10:07," the zoo tweeted. "It appears
healthy."
Mei Xiang gave birth to the first cub Saturday evening
relatively quickly -- an hour after her water broke.
"The panda
team began preparing for a birth when they saw Mei Xiang's water break at 4:32
p.m., and she was already having contractions. The sex of the cub won't be
determined until a later date," the zoo said in a news release.
Zoo officials
said the first cub is vocalizing and appears to be in good condition.
"The cub is
vulnerable at this tiny size but we know Mei is an excellent mother," zoo
director Dennis Kelly said.
Experts will
perform a neonatal exam on the newborn cubs after they retrieve them, which may
take a few days.
Mei Xiang was
artificially inseminated in April using semen from a giant panda in China as
well as Tian Tian, who lives at the zoo. A DNA analysis will determine who the
father is.
She has two
surviving cubs -- Tai Shan, born a decade ago and living in China, and Bao Bao,
who is 2 and lives at the zoo.
When Bao Bao
turns 4, she will be sent back to China.
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