appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

The Washington Post


Watch: Is National Zoo's giant panda pregnant?
The US National Zoo has announced that a developing foetus may have been spotted in an ultrasound of its giant panda, Mei Xiang, and that she may give birth soon.
Based on the apparent size of the foetus, which is about four centimetres long, veterinarians estimate that Mei Xiang could give birth early next week, or possibly in early September.
The foetus was spotted by chief zoo veterinarian Don Neiffer during a morning ultrasound test.
He said he spotted what appeared to be a rib cage and some cranial structure, and saw the fetus move.

“Everything points to this being a really healthy normal pregnancy at this point,” he said Wednesday. “I am expecting this to progress nicely.”
He said the panda could give birth as early as seven to 10 days, or as late as 21 to 28 days. He said it looked like it might be sooner rather than later.
Neiffer cautioned however that the foetus could also be “resorbed”, which can happen in bears, and a birth might not occur. “The ability for this foetus to become unviable and be resorbed from now until the time when we would expect delivery is a real possibility,” he said.
“Don’t know what the chances of that are, but it is a possibility,” he said.
He said experts have been trying to conduct regular ultrasound tests, which give an image of the uterus, on the panda. But Mei Xiang is generally reluctant to participate in the tests as her pregnancy cycles conclude, which is the time a foetus might be seen in a giant panda.
Neiffer said keepers alerted him Wednesday morning, however, that Mei looked like she might co-operate. Neiffer said he took his ultrasound equipment to the panda complex.
He tried three or four times to conduct the test, but each time Mei Xiang walked away. “We thought that we weren’t going to be successful,” he said.
“On the last attempt,” she submitted, reclined and was presented with honey water as a reward.
He ran the ultrasound probe over a shaved area on her abdomen, “and in a very short period of time was able to identify . . . foetal tissue in an embryonic sack in her uterus,” he said by telephone from the zoo.
“We were able to take some images as well as some short video clips,” he said. “I was not able to get a foetal heart rate. We did get a nice healthy heart rate from mom. And at one point did actually see fetal movement.
“All signs point to us currently having a healthy, viable fetus, based on the ultrasound,” he said. “So we are cautiously optimistic.”
He said Mei Xiang’s heart rate was a healthy 40 beats per minute. “That supports that the uterine structures are getting a nice healthy blood supply,” he said.
The zoo said it will now be on 24-hour-a-day panda pregnancy watch, where staff and volunteers monitor Mei Xiang to see if she gives birth.
The giant panda was artificially inseminated twice — on April 26 and 27 — with semen collected from the zoo’s male giant panda, Tian Tian, and from a male giant panda at a research centre in Wolong, China.
The panda in Wolong, Hui Hui, was picked because he was a good genetic match for Mei Xiang, the zoo said. The sample from Hui Hui was frozen and flown from China to the zoo’s cryopreservation bank.
Mei Xiang began nest-building, spending more time in her den and sleeping more recently, the zoo said.
Mei Xiang has given birth to two surviving cubs: Tai Shan and Bao Bao. Tai Shan was born July 9, 2005, and he now lives in China. Bao Bao was born Aug. 23, 2013.


US zoo says ultrasound shows panda Mei Xiang may be pregnant – and birth could be imminent

An ultrasound image released by the US National Zoo shows what may be a foetus in panda Mei Xiang. Photo: Reuters

Mei Xiang is already a two-time mother, to Tai Shan, born in 2005, and Bao Bao, born in 2013. Photo: AP

News

World

Officials in Washington believe they have spotted a fetus in an ultrasound of Mei Xing


US zoo says ultrasound shows panda Mei Xiang may be pregnant – and birth could be imminent

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Officials in Washington believe they have spotted a fetus in an ultrasound of Mei Xing

Officials in Washington believe they have spotted a fetus in an ultrasound of Mei Xing