WATCH: Baby Panda Takes First Steps

Under the watchful eye of Mother Panda Bear Mei Xiang, baby BeiBei took his first steps this week at Washington’s Smithsonian National Zoo.

The zoo’s live “panda cam” caught the youngster’s first steps, followed by a big hug from mama. BeiBei was born in August, weighing just 8 ounces at birth. He has steadily packed on the weight since his birth and will continue to grow until reaching the average male panda weight of about 250 pounds.

BeiBei is part of a conservation effort to save the giant panda. There are fewer than 1,864 giant pandas in the wild and more than 300 that live in zoos and breeding centers around the world. The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species.