Chinanews, August 19, according to the US "World Journal" report, on August 14, local time, Washington National Zoo announced that the giant panda Mei Xiang (Mei Xiang) will usher in the fourth child, and the public can watch it online.
Meixiang received artificial insemination in March 2019, but was unsuccessful. At the time, the garden said that the panda would have to wait another year if it did not become pregnant. On March 22, 2020, Mei Xiang received artificial insemination again and successfully conceived. The zoo stated that this was the best news during the epidemic.
The zoo veterinarian said that the skeletal structure in Meixiang's womb was recently found to be expanding. Ultrasound examinations revealed that it was successfully pregnant and the fetus was well developed. It is expected that Meixiang will give birth to one or more healthy red pandas in the next few days.
The zoo stated that giant pandas are different from humans. They have a phenomenon of "implantation delay", that is, the fertilized egg does not implant on the uterine wall for several weeks or even months. Therefore, the zoo did not discover that Meixiang was pregnant in time. When the fertilized egg is implanted, the embryo grows very quickly.
The director of the Zoo Panda Exhibition, Bowersgriffe, once said that the only way to confirm whether a panda is pregnant is through an ultrasound examination, but because the panda cubs are very small, it is difficult for ultrasound to detect any signs of pregnancy before Meixiang gives birth.
Meixiang is 22 years old and has produced three red pandas with the 23-year-old giant panda Tian Tian (Tian Tian). Its last production was in 2015. The three red pandas Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei ( Bei Bei), were sent back to China at the age of four; 2020 is their fourth child. (Zhang Yun)