National Zoo Panda Gives Birth to Stillborn

The National Zoo’s giant panda, Mei Xiang, gave birth to a stillborn cub on Saturday, one day after the jubilant delivery of its first cub. The healthy cub and mom appeared to be doing well after the birth, and zoo officials said there was a 50 percent chance of a twin being born Saturday. But the second birth did not go so well. Mei Xiang groomed the dead cub for about 17 minutes before zoo officials were able to use a device to snatch it away. “It lay motionless and made no sound,” said zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson in a statement. “Throughout, staff could see it visually and hear the first cub squealing, and Mei never set it down.”