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Giant panda Mei Xiang appeared to be nursing her day-old cub on Sunday, a positive sign of survival for a tiny bear susceptible to malnutrition, bacterial infection and even the lumbering of its 250-pound mother.
The National Zoo’s first panda cub in 16 years survived its initial 24 hours–a benchmark for pandas born in captivity–and continued to emit such a robust squeal that zoo officials were optimistic.
“Everything seems to be going fine,” zoo spokeswoman Peper Long said. “But we know that we have several more of those critical time periods to go.”
Mei Xiang and her cub, which probably weighs 3 ounces to 5 ounces, have been under round-the-clock watch at the Panda House since the birth early Saturday.
