'Curious about world': Panda cub appears live on 'panda cam' at Washington's National Zoo

A giant panda cub, on January 27, made his debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, appearing live on 'Panda Cam' as the zoo is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Xiao Qi Ji, who was born last year to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, has left conservationists and zoo officials thrilled. Experts had previously thought that 22-year-old Mei Xiang, who was brought from China, was incompetent to produce another cub.

The National Zoo recently struck a new extension of its longstanding agreement with the Chinese government allowing the giant pandas to remain in Washington for another three years. In the video that was shared by the zoo on its official website, Xiao Qi Ji was seen romping up his toys and munching on his first solid food-sweet potatoes.

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"Just like his mother, Mei Xiang, our giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji is curious yet cautious about the world around him. Yesterday—the day our cub turned five months old—we decided to introduce him to something new. Using a piece of bamboo shred as a spoon, we scraped some cooked sweet potato onto the end, then handed it over to Xiao Qi Ji. He grabbed the bamboo in his mouth, paused for a moment to take in the new taste, then lay back and licked the remainder. When we offered him more, he wouldn’t stop nibbling on it!" wrote the zoo. 

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Oldest giant panda dies

Meanwhile, in saddening news, world’s oldest captive panda, Xinxing died at the age of 38 at China’s Chongqing Zoo, confirmed a news release on the zoo’s official WeChat page. “The world's longest-lived captive giant panda "Xinxing" died at 13:25 noon on December 8, 2020”, said the release. As per the release, the panda first fell sick on October 21, when he was lethargic and unwilling to eat. After that, he faced issues like Difficulty breathing, coughing, and unsteady standing.