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Mei Xiang gave birth on Little Friday Night.
The Washington, DC National Zoo announced a small package of good news on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mei Xiang, the 22-year-old giant panda, gave birth on Little Friday at 6:35 p.m., according to the National Zoo.
“A precious giant panda has arrived! We are delighted to share that Mei Xiang gave birth at 6:35 p.m. and is taking care of her newborn baby carefully,” the zoo tweeted after the birth, which was broadcast live. “Positive mothering behaviors include breastfeeding and cuddling her little one.”
Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated on March 22 with semen collected from male panda Tian Tian, and she exhibited pregnancy-compatible behaviors – sleeping and nesting – in late July.
The cub is the seventh for the panda, although only three of them lived to adulthood. All of them were fathered by Tian Tian.
“Giant pandas are an international symbol of hope and endangered wildlife, and with the birth of this precious little one, we are delighted to offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy,” Steve Monfort, director of John and Adrienne Mars of the Smithsonian’s National Institute for Zoo and Conservation Biology, said in a statement, “Because Mei Xiang is of advanced maternal age, we knew her chances of having a small were thin. However, we wanted to give him one more opportunity to contribute to the survival of his species. ”
“I am incredibly proud of our animal care and science teams, whose expertise in giant pandas behavior has been essential to this conservation success,” he added.
She recently gave birth on August 22, 2015 in Bei Bei, named by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuang.
Bei Bei was transferred to a zoo in Chengdu, China, last November.
A week ago, the zoo talked about the upcoming arrival and how much attention it would bring to the animals.
“There’s no denying that a giant panda is a charismatic animal, it’s a huge achievement,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson told ABC News. “Millions of people view our panda camera program every year around the world.”
Mei Xiang was born at the Chinese Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in July 1998.
Pandas, which are native to China, are classified as a “vulnerable” species in the wild, an improvement from its previous status of “endangered.”
ABC News’ Olivia Eubanks contributed to this report.
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