Tai Shan Turns 4

(NEWSER) - Giant panda Mei Xiang, whose first cub became an international superstar, is not pregnant, National Zoo officials said today. The panda, who was artificially inseminated in January, experienced her third false pregnancy in as many years, the Washington Post reports. Four-year-old Tai Shan, Mei Xiang's only cub to survive infancy, is scheduled to be handed over to the Chinese government later this year. More»

Bears fail again at 'competent mating'; keepers help out

(NEWSER) - A romantic day in the park amid inaugural hubbub wasn’t enough to propagate the genes of two famous pandas at Washington’s National Zoo, the Washington Post reports. The pair had given mating calls, prompting hopes for the conception of a new member of the endangered species, which is apparently horrible at the reproduction game. But after spending a day trying to mate, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang had no luck—so veterinarians artificially inseminated Mei Xiang. More»

Washington's Tai Shan and Atlanta's Mei Lan moving to China to breed

(NEWSER) - Washington will bid its favorite panda adieu on Feb. 4, when Tai Shan leaves for China to breed, accompanied by Zoo Atlanta's Mei Lan. “It's like sending off your own child to college,” Tai Shan's fan club founder tells the Post , adding that fan club members have raised $10,000 to “adopt” Tai Shan, born at the National Zoo four years ago, and in return, “They'll send us updates and photographs.” His farewell party is Saturday, with Feb. 3 his last day on view at the zoo. More»

Own harvest has failed; may not have enough to get through winter

(NEWSER) - The National Zoo is appealing for donations from landowners in the Washington area who may have stands of green crunchy bamboo stalks, reports the Washington Post. The zoo's own harvest of bamboo has failed and with the zoo's giant pandas, red pandas, elephants and gorillas eating 75,000 pounds of the stuff, administrators are running alarmingly low of the vital nourishment. More»

Five more years, to be exact

(NEWSER) - Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, those sweet, cuddly pandas that rank among our national treasures, actually aren't ours—but we get to keep them for a little while longer. At last night's state dinner, Obama announced that China, which has been loaning us the creatures under an agreement that expired last month, will let them remain in the National Zoo for five more years, reports the New York Times . "The Chinese and American people work together and create new opportunities together every single day," said Obama. More»