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August 19, 2020

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Washington zoo on alert for panda birth

Zookeepers at Washington鈥檚 National Zoo are on furry black-and-white baby watch after concluding that venerable giant panda matriarch Mei Xiang is pregnant and could give birth this week.

It鈥檚 a welcome bit of good news amid a pandemic that kept the zoo shuttered for months.

鈥淲e need this! We totally need this joy,鈥 said zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson. 鈥淲e are all in desperate need of these feel-goods.鈥

Although so-called 鈥減hantom pregnancies鈥 are common with pandas, Baker-Masson said an ultrasound scan revealed a 鈥渞eally strong-looking, fantastic fetus鈥 that could be delivered this week.

鈥淭he image was great. She is absolutely pregnant, but things could still happen, just like in a human pregnancy,鈥 Baker-Masson said.

The zoo posted a video from the ultrasound on Instagram. 鈥淜eep your paws crossed!鈥 The zoo posted, reporting that the fetus was 鈥渒icking and swimming in the amniotic fluid.鈥

The announcement of the pregnancy has already touched off a fresh round of panda-mania for one of the zoo鈥檚 feature attractions. Viewership on the zoo鈥檚 panda-cam has increased 800 percent. The zoo reopened on a limited basis on July 24, with restrictions in place to keep the crowds down.


 

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