Bei Bei, the National Zoo’s giant panda cub will meet the public for the first time on Saturday!
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The exhibit is open today from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m.
Bei Bei, who was born on August 22, is the third surviving cub of the zoo’s two full grown bears, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Bei Bei’s smaller brother passed away within a week. The amount of time Bei Bei will be on exhibit each day will depend on his behavior. He is larger than both his older siblings, Bao Bao and Tai Shan, were at his age.
Onlookers were told that the best time to watch Bei Bei, was from noon to 2 p.m., because panda cubs like to sleep for most of the day. They were sired by Tian Tian, the zoo’s male giant panda, using artificial insemination.
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Panda are an endangered species and according to the World Wildlife Fund, “severe threats from humans have left just over 1,800 pandas in the wild”.
