The National Zoo's giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a healthy young cub on Friday while several people flocked to watch it in high-definition screens. The labor was rather quick, said the Smithsonian's National Zoo officials.
Because of the zoo's new public panda cams technology, thousands of spectators were glued to their computer screens enjoying the live stream of the female panda's labor which ended at exactly 5:32 p.m., giving birth to a lean cub.
"This is a very delicate time for us. We're still on the lookout for a possible second cub," Dennis Kelly, the zoo's director, said, implying that the cub's twin might be born a little later on Friday or perhaps early Saturday.
As though they were expecting a famous celebrity giving birth, the officials of the zoo announced that Mei Xiang's water broke at exactly 3:36 p.m. on Facebook and Twitter, informing its patrons of the live stream that was about to happen.
The birth of this new cub is said to have restored hope for the once-stained memory of the zoo after another young panda died in September last year.
Zoo officials were very positive on the safe delivery of this new cub, saying that they even had a Chinese expert come over to help.
"After our last experience, and this is such a small cub, I am not going to relax. We're going to be tense for the next two or three months. We have high hopes," Kelly said.
Although earlier updates from the zoo claimed that the labor was projected to last for a full 10-hour period, the actual labor only lasted for less than two hours with Mei Xiang spotted cradling her cub just minutes after delivery.
"We feel incredible," Kelly exclaimed. "The team is just ecstatic. But we're also very cautious at this point. We look like we have a healthy cub. It's squawking appropriately. . . . It looks like it's a good size. So all that is so far, so good."
Later, Kelly also confirmed that the live stream for the delivery of Mei Xiang's cub almost faltered due to the unprecedented number of people tuning in.
The cub is to undergo a physical examination on Saturday morning said the zoo officials. Experts will be there to record the cub's weight, size, and body temperature as well as examine for any anatomical abnormalities.
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