Giant Panda Cub Xiao Qi Ji Greets Fans At Smithsonian Zoo

WASHINGTON, DC —Xiao Qi Ji, the Smithsonian National Zoo's 9-month-old giant panda cub, was able to greet his legions of fans in person when the zoo reopened to the public last week.

Xiao Qi Ji was born in August 2020, and since then, panda enthusiasts could only catch a glimpse of him on the zoo's Giant Panda Cam. He was introduced to the world virtually in January while the zoo remained closed due to the ongoing pandemic.

On May 21, he met zoo visitors for the first time and "never skipped a beat," according to zoo staff.

"He napped in the canopy of his favorite tree in the morning. Then, in the early afternoon, he trotted inside the Panda House and played with his mother, Mei Xiang, while she rested on the rockwork," zoo staff said in a news release.

Behind the scenes, Xiao Qi Ji is undergoing husbandry training. He is quickly mastering “target," or touching his nose to a ball on the end of a dowel. When zoo staff needs to relocate the cub, target training will encourage him to move on his own.

At 22, Mei Xiang was the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States. Her age made her chances of giving birth to a cub slim, zoo staff said.

The oldest in the world gave birth in China at age 23.

Mei Xiang has three surviving offspring, Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, that were transported to China at age 4 under an agreement with the Chinese government.

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