1. Mei Xiang is a female giant panda who lived at the National Zoo in Washington DC.
19 Facts About Mei Xiang
1. 2.
Mei Xiang has given birth to seven cubs, all at the National Zoo and fathered by Tian Tian.
3.
Mei Xiang's most recent cub is a male, named Xiao Qi Ji, born on August 21,2020.
4.
Mei Xiang was born on July 22,1998, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province; she weighs about 230 pounds.
5.
Mei Xiang's mother was Xue Xue and her father was Lin Nan; both parents were wild pandas.
6.
In keeping with the habits of wild pandas, Mei is generally alone, although Mei and Tian are occasionally together outside of breeding season.
7.
Tian and Mei Xiang are trained to participate in a full medical examination, including a blood draw, without anesthesia.
8.
Mei Xiang was the first panda cub to be born at the zoo and live for more than a few days.
9.
Mei Xiang lived at the zoo until February 4,2010, when he moved to China, as per an agreement between the United States and China.
10.
Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated twice in April 2012 with Tian Tian's sperm.
11.
The cub, whom officials believed to have been a female, was found deceased on September 23,2012, after Mei Xiang expressed distressed, honking-like sounds.
12.
Mei Xiang gave birth again the following night, Saturday, August 24,2013, to a stillborn cub, a female.
13.
Mei Xiang was later named Bao Bao when she turned 100 days old.
14.
Mei Xiang lived at the zoo until February 21,2017, when she moved to China.
15.
Mei Xiang had been displaying behaviors consistent with a pregnancy or pseudopregnancy: spending more time in her den, sleeping more, cradling objects, and licking her body.
16.
Mei Xiang went on to give birth to two live male giant panda cubs, both fathered by Tian Tian.
17.
Mei Xiang gave birth to the first live cub at 5:35pm on August 22,2015, and delivered the second, larger cub later that night at 10:07 PM On August 26,2015, the National Zoo announced that the smaller of the two cubs had died.
18.
Mei Xiang lived at the zoo until November 19,2019, when he moved to China.
19.
In March 2020, shortly after the National Zoo closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated using only frozen sperm to avoid too much close contact.