He’s as cute, cuddly and fuzzy as you’d expect him to be.
Weighing 45 pounds, giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji bears hardly any resemblance to the butter stick-sized, pink, hairless newborn his fans witnessed enter the world nine months ago.
On Thursday morning in his outdoor habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the panda climbed up a couple of trees, the branches and leaves hiding him from reporters’ cameras, as his mother, Mei Xiang, munched bamboo shoots close by.
Starting Friday, the public will be able to get an in-person peek of the giant panda cub for the first time since the cub’s birth as the National Zoo reopens.
“First of all, the birth of Xiao Qi Ji during the pandemic is what we call our little miracle because it sparked joy in our staff but also in millions and millions of people around the world,” said Steve Monfort, director of the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, commenting his excitement that the zoo is reopening. “So it’s been something truly special during a year that was truly awful.”
“Opening the zoo, in general, is a symbol of a return to normalcy,” Mr. Monfort said. “It’s an opportunity for us to achieve our mission, which is to get people into the park to be inspired and to fall in love with nature and animals and hopefully, to take that and translate that into acts of conservation.”
The giant panda house has been closed to the public for months to give the male cub and his mother peace and quiet. The public could watch the panda cub snuggle with his mother, crawl and squeak on the floor and transform into the small bear it is today on cameras installed in their inside den.
About three months after the cub’s birth, the zoo shut its gates altogether due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The zoo reopens Friday to visitors with reserved timed entry passes. Those who wish to visit giant pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and cub Xiao Qi Ji must obtain a separate free timed Asia Trail/panda pass for each person in their party.
The giant panda exhibit will be limited to 620 guests per day, and visitors are asked to limit their viewing to 15 minutes.
On Aug. 21, panda mom Mei Xiang (pronounced “may-SHONG”) gave birth to the male cub, becoming, at age 22, the oldest giant panda in the U.S. to have a successful pregnancy. The birth of Xiao Qi Ji (pronounced “SHEOW chee jee”) also marked the first time a U.S. zoo has had a successful pregnancy via artificial insemination using only frozen semen.
The male cub’s name Xiao Qi Ji means “little miracle” and reflects the “extraordinary circumstances under which he was born” and efforts to conserve the giant panda species, the zoo said. The cub turns nine months old on Friday.
“At this age, he is most active in the early morning and early afternoon, but takes frequent naps throughout the day,” said Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas. “Xiao Qi Ji becomes a little more independent every day. Now, he is more comfortable exploring the habitat and climbing away from his mother.”
She said like his mother, Xiao Qi Ji is cautious and careful when he climbs trees and rockwork in his habitat. However, she added it is a bit too early to tell if he will enjoy playing in the water as much as his father, Tian Tian.
On March 22, 2020, reproductive scientists and zoo veterinarians had artificially inseminated Mei Xiang with frozen semen from Tian Tian (pronounced “tee-YEN tee-YEN”), a 23-year-old giant panda. Ultrasounds on Aug. 14 and 17 confirmed the presence of a fetus.
Cubs typically start nibbling on solid foods around 6 months old, although Mei Xiang’s milk will remain the foundation of her cub’s diet until he is about 18 months old. Male giant pandas usually weigh about 250 pounds when fully grown, and they reach sexual maturity between 4 and 8 years old.
Mei Xiang previously gave birth to three other surviving offspring: Tai Shan (pronounced “tie SHON”) in July 2005, Bao Bao (pronounced “BOW BOW”) in August 2013, and Bei Bei (pronounced “BAY BAY”) in August 2015.
All of the cubs were moved to China at 4 years old as part of a cooperative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are scheduled to be sent to China in December 2023, according to the zoo’s multi-year extension agreement.
There are about a dozen giant pandas in the United States, all of them on loan from the Chinese government.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.