While I slept, she had her 4th baby
Mama Bai Yun gave birth to her fourth cub at the San Diego Zoo at 1:31 p.m. PST on Friday, 3 August 2007.
Her third cub, Su Lin, turned 2 a day earlier on Thursday, 2 August 2007.
Mei Sheng, #2, will turn 4 on Sunday, 19 August 2007, while Hua Mei, #1, will turn 8 on Tuesday, 21 August 2007.
The 16-year-old Bai Yun is already a grandmother six times over. Hua Mei, who returned to China in early 2004, gave birth to her first set of twin in 2004, followed by her second set a year later in 2005. After a year off in 2006, she gave birth to her third set of twins on 16 July 2007.
Mei Sheng is scheduled to return to China in October. All giant panda cubs born to panda parents on loan from China are returned after they turned 2. Hua Mei’s delay was due to the SARS epidemic in 2003. Mei Sheng’s return was delayed due to negotiations. He was initially scheduled to go to another zoo but is now going home to help with the breeding programme. As the offspring of a wild panda (daddy Gao Gao was rescued from the wild in 1993), his genes will help towards avoiding the risk of in-breeding at Wolong Centre.
Meanwhile, over at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, Tai Shan’s return has also been delayed until after he turns 4, so he will be around for another two years, which is extremely good news for all his fans around the world!
