The National Zoo needs help naming their 12-week-old giant panda cub
- The Smithsonian National Zoo's giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a baby boy cub on August 21.
- The zoo is asking for help from the public to name the 12-week-old cub.
- You can vote for the name of your choice on the zoo's website.
The Smithsonian National Zoo welcomed a baby giant panda 12 weeks ago and he still doesn't have a name.
The zoo in Washington, DC, has asked for help deciding on what to call the new arrival through an open vote on their website.
The four options for the cub's name are Fu Zai, which means prosperous boy; Xiao Qi ji, which means little miracle; Xing Fu, which means happy and prosperous; and Zai Zai, a traditional Chinese nickname for a boy.
The zoo will announce the baby boy's name on November 23.
The newest cub, who now weighs 9.2 pounds, was born on August 21 to Mei Xiang. At 22 years old, Mei Xiang is the oldest panda in the US to give birth, according to the zoo. She was artificially inseminated with the semen from fellow giant panda Tian Tian in March.
The cub's birth was live-streamed on the zoo's giant panda cam and more than a million people have stopped in since to watch him grow, the zoo said.
At this age, the cub mostly enjoys "napping, nursing, and cuddling" with his mother, according to the zoo.
Mei Xiang has three older children, too: Tai Shan, Bao Bao, and Bei Bei, the zoo said. They've already moved to China.
"In the middle of a pandemic, this is a joyful moment we can all get excited about," Don Neiffer, chief veterinarian at the zoo, said in a statement shortly after the panda's pregnancy was confirmed this summer. "We are optimistic that very shortly she may give birth to a healthy cub or cubs."
- Read more:
- Mei Xiang, the National Zoo's female giant panda, is very pregnant
- The 24-hour livestream of the National Zoo's giant pandas has turned off because of the government shutdown, and people are furious
- Bei Bei the panda is returning to China in style on his own private FedEx plane specially painted for the occasion and filled with 66 pounds of bamboo
- A giant panda national park is opening in China, and it will reportedly be nearly 3 times the size of Yellowstone National Park