Washington zoo’s giant panda cub to make debut January 16

The National Zoo will exhibit the giant panda cub of Xing Xing and Liang Liang starting today. The announcement was made on the zoo’s Twitter account on Tuesday.

The not so little cub has been monitored since he was born on August 22, the National Zoo said. “He is larger than both his older siblings Bao Bao and Tai Shan were at the same age”, the statement said.

A second cub born with Bei Bei died shortly after birth. At the moment, their numbers are not doing so well, with only 1,600 Pandas in the wild and 300 in captivity. The unnamed cub and its mother Liang Liang have been in quarantine since its birth on Aug 18, when it weighed 175g, to promote bonding between them.

Those who wish to view the panda cub can visit Zoo Negara between 2.30pm and 3.30pm daily.

The giant panda cub will only be in the country for two years before being sent back to China, while Xing Xing and Liang Liang will remain here for 10 years based on the Malaysia-China Giant Panda worldwide Conservation Agreement. When they spend time in the den, they will only be visible on the panda cams.

The good news that an adorable baby Panda will make its appearance soon has been received with a lot of enthusiasm and is a good sign for the future of the species.