Meintest du panda?
Always free of charge, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is one of Washington D.C.’s, and the Smithsonian’s, most popular tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.
Two New Giant Pandas Coming to Smithsonian’s National
All four red panda pairs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., successfully bred and had cubs this year. Of the 10 cubs, more born at SCBI than any other year, seven have survived.
Red pandas typically give birth to litters of one to
Xiao QI Ji is stepping out on his own! Our 2.5-year-old giant panda has been playing, eating and sleeping by himself lately—behaviors that indicate he’s ready for independence.
Brown-Palsgrove, curator of Asia Trail and giant pandas
Why is giant panda Mei Xiang sleeping for longer periods, eating less and denning? After going into estrus this spring, months later, she’s experiencing a pseudopregnancy—even though she did not breed! Learn more from curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove.
into estrus—the very short window when female giant pandas
„My mother, Elaine Washburn, was an Asia Trail volunteer interpreter in the early 2000’s. Mom had been a docent at the Ross Park Zoo in our hometown…“
Mom didn’t actually want to be placed with the pandas
Recently, giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji has been exploring his new habitat with his mother, Mei Xiang, by his side. Get the latest update from keeper Mariel Lally.
Dec. 8, 2022 | Giant pandas Mei Xiang (foreground)
„When I was in my mid-twenties and living in Mount Pleasant, I loved taking long runs to and then through the National Zoo…“
Seeing the pandas was my long-run reward.
You may not like needles or giving blood when you go to the doctor’s office, but did you know that blood is an important diagnostic tool for veterinarians? When an animal is feeling sick, obtaining a blood sample for analysis is often one of the very first steps a veterinarian takes.
All of this is true for giant pandas, too.
Beginning Aug. 18, the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat will be partially closed to keep a quiet area around panda Mei Xiang’s den. Although we are not able to confirm if she is pregnant, Mei Xiang is exhibiting expected, normal behaviors following a secondary hormone rise that are in line with both a pregnancy and pseudo, or false, pregnancy.
implantation occurs, the phenomenon isn’t unique to giant pandas
We rounded up the animal antics and species conservation stories that made us laugh, smile and cheer in 2021. Take a look back at some of our favorite moments caught on video.
Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian slide in the snow
