Baby Panda Born at National Zoo

Mei Xiang, the National Zoo’s female giant panda, gave birth to a cub on Sunday night; her first since 2005. Experts believed that the chances of Mei becoming pregnant this year were less than 10 percent. And China, which leases all giant pandas in U.S. zoos, had said that it would consider replacing Mei if she did not become pregnant this year. Earlier in September, the zoo had said that Mei had changed her behavior in ways that could indicate a pregnancy, but ultrasounds were inconclusive. Baby pandas weigh only about four ounces and resemble naked mole rats. But as cute as this one is, it will not be seen by the public for several months.