Isbella Diaz
WMAL
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Panda enthusiasts received a special treat this past week if they happened to be watching the National Zoo’s panda cam: a full view of the panda cub.
Panda mother Mei Xiang ate for the first time since giving birth to twin cubs on Saturday, Aug. 29. She put down the panda cub and picked up some sugar cane around 1 p.m.
This gave panda cam viewers some time to see the cub’s light, black markings. They have started coming in around the cub’s back, ears and eyes.
The cub could be heard grunting (a happy noise for a panda cub) and lifting his head while his mother ate the sugarcane left by her keepers.
Mei ate sugarcane again along with some diluted apple juice on Monday, Aug. 1 around 6 p.m.
She left the den and the panda cub to go urinate and defecate two hours later. This is only the second time Mei has done so since having cubs.
The cub was very quiet until his mother’s return.
Mei is expected to become more comfortable leaving the cub alone as she begins to eat and drink more often in the upcoming weeks, keepers say.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Flickr/Smithsonian’s National Zoo)
