It’s a boy! The Washington National Zoo revealed the gender of Mei Xiang’s baby panda cub today.
Veterinarians at the Giant Panda Habitat performed genetic testing with swabs taken from the panda’s mouth.
Tests also revealed the father of the baby panda was Tian Tian, a giant panda from China’s Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong.
“I’m happy to say the results were very clear,” said Dr. Robert Fleischer, the head of the Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics who performed the genetic testing to determine the sex.
The cub was born last Saturday along with a twin sibling, who died Wednesday after struggling with respiratory issues from feeding complications. Results from a necropsy performed on the deceased cub have not been shared, but zoo veterinarian Dr. Don Neiffer believes the cub died after food material entered the respiratory system.
Giant male pandas can eventually reach a weight of 250 pounds.
The zoo has not decided on a name for the baby panda. Bao Bao, born in August 2013, was not named until 100 days after her birth.
