By that time, Bei Bei will be able to stand in the zoo environment without being at risk.
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The cub, Bei Bei, was born in August to the zoo’s Mei Xiang, one of the top tourist draws in the US capital. Another cub that was also born August 22 died soon after birth. Tai Shan, the first one, lives in China, while the second one was born in 2013 in the USA, and is named Bao Bao. Bei Bei has gone from a pink, hairless cub to weighing about five ounces to a robust 12.5 pound black and white cub who can now crawl and walk on his own. They were sired by Tian Tian, the zoo’s male giant panda, using artificial insemination. The species is endangered because it records an extremely low reproductive rate. There are about 300 giant pandas in captivity and a few 1,600 in the wild.
Those who wish to view the panda cub can visit Zoo Negara between 2.30pm and 3.30pm daily. When they spend time in the den, they will only be visible on the panda cams. National Zoo members can however catch a glimpse of the Panda cub a bit earlier, on January 8.
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The three-month-old daughter of China’s giant panda Liangliang baby panda made her first public appearance in Malaysia on Tuesday and attracted a flood of visitors.
