All eyes are on the National Zoo's female panda, Mei Xiang. 14 year old, Mei is currently going through the process where she may give birth to a cub or experience the end of a pseudo pregnancy.
From the zoo's website: "Mei Xiang returned to a more normal estrous cycle this year. She went into heat in April after three consecutive years of going into heat in January.
Giant panda breeding season generally lasts from late winter to late spring, but scientists are unsure of what triggers the onset of estrus. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated twice in late April with sperm collected and frozen in 2005 from the Zoo's male panda, Tian Tian. The second artificial insemination April 30 was live-tweeted for the first time"
It's a true wonder of the world to watch 'live' the birth of a newborn giant panda, because they are an endangered species and with every birth comes the hope that the threat of extinction becomes a distant memory.
So, to have the opportunity to observe a panda who is going through the process of pregnancy or pseudo pregnancy via live webcams, is a special privilege that future generations may never have, except to watch a video from the past. This is something we can't take for granted.
Fortunately for us, both of these zoo's do have the cams and you can watch them anytime during a 24 hour period. Big thanks also goes to panda pal, Daniel, who has the technical know how to showcase the cams on one website, so you are not having to open several different websites at once to watch the pandas.
His website is Daniel's Multiple Panda Cam Feeds and it a great site to add to your favorites. Not only does he provide many webcams from around the world on the site for quick access, but he also has great info about pandas as well as a very informative Facebook page that he keeps up to date with current information about pandas. You can always find links to individual live webcams here in the right-hand side bar also.
Don't miss out on a chance to watch Bai interact with her little boy, yet to be named, who is already weighs 4 lbs and Mei Xiang who is spending most of her time in the den area now, grinding up bamboo to act as a nest for the possible cub, eating, or just resting while we all wait patiently for the possibility of another cubby for the National Zoo. Keep your fingers crossed!
Here is short take of what you might see while watching Bai Yun and her cub.
