The Smithsonian National Zoo just had an additional member bringing joy to the park workers. 22-year-old Giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a healthy cub on Friday at the Washington zoo. The baby panda arrived on Friday around 6:35 p.m. ET. The zoo to social media letting the world know the happy news. The zoo suspected mom Mei Xiang's pregnancy during an ultrasound about a week. The sex of the cub has not been determined yet. A neonatal exam will be performed when keepers are able to retrieve the cub a few days later. An animal care staff said that the mother panda immediately began nursing and cuddling the tiny new baby. Giant Pandas Ying Ying and Le Le Mate at Ocean Park in Hong Kong for the First Time, View Pic and Video As They Share an Intimate Moment!

The zoo tweeted saying, "A precious giant panda cub has arrived! We’re overjoyed to share that Mei Xiang gave birth at 6:35 p.m. and is caring for her newborn attentively. Positive mothering behaviors include nursing her cub and cuddling it close." As giant pandas are endangered animals, the birth of this little has brought more hopes to the increasing population of the animals. They also shared videos of the moment Mei Xiang gave birth and her nursing the newborn. As the videos and pictures were widely shared, social media users were quite happy to see the newborn. Cute Panda Videos Are Here to Cheer You Up! Watch Clips of Funny Panda Bears to Take The Blues Away.

Giant Panda Delivers Baby at Washington National Zee:

Giant Panda Delivers Baby:

Steve Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute was quoted as saying, "Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and with the birth of this precious cub we are thrilled to offer the world a much-needed moment of pure joy." He added, "Because Mei Xiang is of advanced maternal age, we knew the chances of her having a cub were slim. However, we wanted to give her one more opportunity to contribute to her species’ survival. I am incredibly proud of our animal care and science teams, whose expertise in giant panda behavior was critical to this conservation success."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2020 03:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).