Postings From the Panda Front

The new panda at the National Zoo may be the most scrutinized youngster in Washington since Chelsea Clinton. Not only can you watch him live on the Internet, the zoo has a daily Web log of what he and his mother, Mei Xiang, are up to.

What must it be like to spend your days trying to make the pair's various activities interesting? Something like this, maybe?

July 9: Mei's a Mom!

Well, the waiting is over! At 3:41 a.m. today, giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub. Mei gives every indication of being a wonderful mother. She responds to the cub's every squeal, cradling the baby in her mouth, cuddling it and allowing it to suckle at her breast. Zookeepers don't yet know the sex of the baby, which is blind and hairless. It's about the size of a stick of butter.

July 10: You Can Lead a Panda to Water

Mei left her enclosure to take a drink of water today! While this may not seem like a big deal, rest assured that it is. Every incremental development of the cub or bit of behavior exhibited by Mei Xiang is noteworthy. National Zoo scientists and volunteers are carefully monitoring the panda pair round-the-clock, writing down their movements; their vocalizations; what they eat and drink; when they eat and drink; their facial expressions; the frequency, consistency and color of their bowel movements; etc., etc.

This is all observed via closed-circuit television and entered into a detailed journal. And then yours truly picks out the highlights for this panda blog.

July 11: Oh That Thirsty Panda!

Mei took another drink of water today. That's the second time in two days she has taken a drink of water. Counting the day when the cub was born, that is two times in three days that she has taken a drink of water, or roughly one drink of water every two-thirds of a day. If she takes a drink of water tomorrow, she will have taken a drink of water on 75 percent of the days since she gave birth.

The cub is still blind and hairless. And still about the size of a stick of butter.

July 12: Everybody's a Critic

We've been told not to compare the baby panda to a stick of butter anymore.