June 18, 2013

Ultrasound on National Zoo's female giant panda shows...

BY: LIZ FARMER AUGUST 28, 2012 | 11:44 AM
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An ultrasound Tuesday morning of the National Zoo's giant panda Mei Xiang revealed, well, nothing.

Results were inconclusive after zoo scientists recently detected a rise in hormone levels that could signal the 14-year-old panda was once again expecting. According to the Associated Press she has had five pseudopregnancies since 2007. Her only birth came in 2005 to cub Tai Shan.

But have hope, panda cub lovers: Zoo officials said panda fetuses don't start developing until the final weeks of a pregnancy. Meanwhile, Mei Xiang, who was artificially inseminated twice in April, is still working on the nest she began building this weekend.

lfarmer@washingtonexaminer.com

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Liz Farmer

Examiner Staff Writer
The Washington Examiner

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