Zoo Staff Discovers Panda Cub Is a Male

WASHINGTON — The National Zoo’s giant panda cub still doesn’t have a name, but at least caretakers now know its sex. Not that the zoo had a preference.

"We’re excited to have a healthy panda cub," assistant curator Lisa Stevens said Tuesday. "It doesn’t matter what its sex is – just it’s good to know so we know whether to call it a ‘he’ or a ‘she.’"

Make that "he."

Stevens said the panda’s mother, 6-year-old Mei Xiang, doesn’t care about the sex of her three-and-a-half-week-old cub either, only the tenth giant panda in the country.

Giant panda mothers dote on their cubs regardless of their gender. Mei Xiang cuddles her bundle of black-and-white fur almost 24 hours a day.

That makes it hard for the zoo’s staff to get to the cub for examinations, Stevens said. She said the staff moved in for their first hands-on exam Tuesday when Mei Xiang left the den to snack on some bamboo.

Veterinarians quickly weighed the animal – it’s under two pounds – and established that it was healthy. They also determined the cub’s gender.

"It was just nice to have this sturdy, solid little cub in my hands," Stevens said.

Mei Xiang and her cub are not expected to be on exhibit for at least three months while they continue to bond.

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On the Net:

Panda Web cam: http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas