For the first time since the cub’s birth, the public will be able to get an in-person peek of the giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji as the National Zoo reopens its doors on Friday.
He’s as cute, cuddly and fuzzy as you’d expect him to be. Weighing in at 45 pounds, young Xiao Qi Ji bears hardly any resemblance to the butter-sized, pink, hairless newborn panda that fans witnessed enter the world nine months ago.
On Thursday morning, the miniature panda climbed up a couple of trees in his outdoor habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the branches and leaves hiding him from reporters’ cameras, as his mother, Mei Xiang, munched on bamboo shoots close by.
“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 Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, commenting on how thrilled he is 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,” he 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.”
For months, the giant panda house was closed to the public to give the male cub and his mother peace and quiet. Instead, 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 doors 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 the oldest giant panda in the U.S. to have a successful pregnancy at age 22. 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 had said.
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 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 multiyear extension agreement.
There are about a dozen giant pandas in the United States, all of them on loan from the Chinese government.
