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One of two panda cubs dies at Washington’s National Zoo

In this handout photo provided by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, keeper Stacey Tabellario bottle feeds the smaller of the two newborn panda cubs at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)
Brett Zongker Associated Press
In this handout photo provided by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, keeper Stacey Tabellario bottle feeds the smaller of the two newborn panda cubs at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington’s National Zoo said one of its two newborn panda cubs died Wednesday after three and a half days.

The zoo’s adult female panda Mei Xiang gave birth to the first cub Saturday at 5:35 p.m. and a second cub about five hours later. Had both cubs survived, they would have been the 17-year-old panda’s third and fourth surviving offspring. The zoo said the remaining cub, the larger of the two, appears to be strong, robust and behaving normally. The surviving cub remains with its mother.

The zoo did not immediately announce the cause of the smaller cub’s death.

Mei Xiang has two other surviving offspring. The first, Tai Shan, was born in 2005. Her second cub, Bao Bao, turned 2-years-old Sunday. This isn’t the first time that Mei Xiang has lost a cub. She gave birth to a stillborn cub in 2013, the same year she gave birth to Bao Bao. And in 2012, Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub that died after just six days. Its lungs hadn’t fully developed.

Zookeepers had been trying to care for the twin cubs using a technique developed by Chinese breeders. Because pandas won’t usually nurse twins if left to their own devices, breeders have adopted a practice where every several hours they swap the cubs, giving each one time with its mother.

The zoo said Tuesday afternoon, however, that Mei Xiang had gone almost 24 hours without allowing them to swap the cubs. As a result, animal keepers were taking a hands-on approach to caring for the smaller cub but also continuing to try to swap them.

Caretakers became concerned about the smaller cub’s fluctuating weight. Animal keepers were feeding the cub using both a bottle and a tube. The zoo said the cub had “shown some signs” of regurgitating the liquids it was being fed, which could lead to the cub inhaling liquid into its lungs. Veterinarians were giving the cub antibiotics to prevent a possible infection, the zoo said.

Pink, hairless and blind, newborn cubs weigh 3 to 5 ounces. Panda mom Mei Xiang weighs more than 700 times as much.