National Zoo: Panda Mei Xiang Gives Birth To 2 Cubs On Saturday

WASHINGTON (AP) --Big news out of D.C. tonight. Two panda cubs were born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and the birth was streamed live for millions to witness.

The first birth happened at 5:34 p.m. Saturday and just after 10:00 p.m the zoo announces the birth of another panda cup!

WJZ's Mary Bubala has more on the pandemonium in Washington.

Washington's National Zoo says its female giant panda, Mei Xiang, gave birth to a cub at 5:34 p.m. on Saturday.

After weeks of not knowing if she was even pregnant, the Smithsonian's National Zoo in D.C. is thrilled!

"We are very excited but we are very cautious you'll remember in 2012 we lost a cub after 6 days so let's keep our fingers crossed, but this is still a very fragile time for this cub," said Dennis Kelly, National Zoo.

The zoo tweeted out this photo on Wednesday of Mei Xiang's ultrasound showing a panda fetus, but they still didn't known when it would be born.

They say she had showed signs for weeks--sleeping more, eating less and building a nest.

Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated twice in April. One of the potential fathers is in China, the other is Tien Tien.

"We are going to conduct a paternity test in the future. This is the first and only giant panda cub born in the United States this year," officials said.

The panda team says Mei Xiang could be seen snuggling one of the cubs. She is an experienced mom, this is her 4th cub.

Two years ago, Bao Bao was born and millions have watched her grow up on the panda cam, learning to crawl, getting check-ups and playing outside with the occasional adorable tumble.

Pandas are already the most popular animals at the zoo and now with another two cubs born the crowds are expected to get even bigger.

The panda cubs don't have a name and the zoo won't even know if it's a girl or boy for a few days.

By the way, tomorrow is Bao, Bao's 2nd birthday.