Giant panda Mei Xiang gives birth to tiny cub, National Zoo says

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Days after confirming that giant panda Mei Xiang was pregnant with a cub, the National Zoo says Friday that she gave birth around 6:35 p.m.

They say Mei Xiang picked up the cub immediately afterward and started cradling and caring for it.

You can see and hear the tiny cub here:

"A neonatal exam will be performed when keepers are able to retrieve the cub, which may take a few days," a zoo news release says. "The sex of the cub will not be determined until a later date."

You can stream the National Zoo's panda cam HERE.

“Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and with the birth of this precious cub we are thrilled to offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy,” said Steve Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

“Because Mei Xiang is of advanced maternal age, we knew the chances of her having a cub were slim. However, we wanted to give her one more opportunity to contribute to her species’ survival. I am incredibly proud of our animal care and science teams, whose expertise in giant panda behavior was critical to this conservation success.”

Mei Xiang has lived at the National Zoo along with male giant panda Tian Tian since December 2000. They came to the zoo as part of a breeding program with China that requires that the zoo return the cubs to China a few years after they are born.

Mei Xiang gave birth to the zoo's first surviving giant panda cub, Tai Shan, on July 9, 2005. The second, Bao Bao, was born on August 23, 2013. She birthed Bei Bei on Aug. 22, 2015.

Bei Bei departed for China on November 19 of last year.

Mei Xiang has also had several pseudopregnancies and has birthed three cubs who were either stillborn or did not survive longer than a few days.