Mei Xiang Pregnancy Update
Panda mothers give birth to twins about 60 percent of the time. In most cases in the wild, the female would simply not be able to care for both, and would focus all of her time and energy on the stronger cub to ensure its survival. Occasionally in captivity, a female is able to raise twins with only a little help from human caregivers. Our Chinese colleagues have developed a method of twin swapping that has greatly increased survival rates of panda twins. Each day, one twin is removed to receive supplemental hand-feeding in the nursery from specially trained staff. The other cub is left to receive care and nourishment from the mother. The next day, the cubs are swapped. Staff members from the National Zoo have traveled to China to observe this process and to receive training in nursery operations for neonatal panda cubs. Based on these observations, our staff have developed a plan for twin swapping and nursery care.
Mei Xiang has been busy constructing her nest of bamboo and mulberry branches, adding bamboo shreds almost every night. She has moved a drain cover into her nest, as she has in previous years. While shecontinues work on her nest, the panda keepers are doing a bit of nesting as well. Keepers annually prepare and re-stock the nursery, just in case there are twins, or a single cub that needs a little extra attention in order to thrive. The hope, of course, is that Mei Xiang will exhibit the same phenomenal mothering skills she showed in 2005, with the birth of her first cub, Tai Shan. We still have to be ready for any outcome, or to offer any extra help that Mei Xiang may need.
Source: National Zoo
