Giant panda cuddles healthy new cub in D.C.

Giant panda cuddles healthy new cub in D.C.

Giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a healthy cub on Friday at the National Zoo in Washington, and immediately began nursing and cuddling the tiny new arrival.

Jillian Kitchener has more.

There’s a new bundle of joy buried in Giant panda Mei Xiang’s fur.

A healthy cub was born, Friday, at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC.

But the sex is still a mystery at this early stage.

Zoo officials say they are thrilled by the new addition… especially since the 22-year-old panda had a slim chance of having a healthy cub because of her age.

In fact, the zoo only confirmed this week that she was pregnant following an ultra-sound.

Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with previously frozen sperm after failed pregnancy attempts and despite her being near the end of her reproductive lifecycle.

The new cub has three siblings… one of which is DC’s beloved Bei Bei who left for China in November as part of a breeding program.

There are only about 1,800 giant pandas in the wild.

…making the new little one - coddled by its mom - a welcome gift to the zoo and the world.