‘Panda sign’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

Starting at 4pm, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), will be a 24-hour pregnancy watch.  FONZ volunteers and animal care staff will closely monitor the panda for maternal behaviors (nest building and cradling of small objects) through keeper interactions and a series of 38 cameras set up throughout the giant panda habitat.

You can check on Mei Xiang through the National Zoo’s pandacam and view a birth should it occur. FYI: Because of increased traffic levels, pandacam visits will be limited to five minutes per session. You can refresh the page to continue viewing, unless there’s just way too much site traffic.

Zoo scientists instated the 24 hour watch as tests of Mei Xiang’s hormone levels approached baseline and indicated that the end of either her pseudo or real pregnancy is near.  If the pregnancy was legit, we should see a new cub within 24 hours.