Panda Cub Dies At National Zoo

WASHINGTON -- The National Zoo delivered sad news Sunday morning: The panda cub born to Mei Xiang a week ago has died.

Here are the details provided by the Zoo:

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo community mourns the loss of the giant panda cub born Sunday, Sept. 16. Panda keepers and volunteers heard a distress vocalization from the mother, Mei Xiang, at 9:17 a.m. and notified the veterinarian staff immediately. The panda cam was turned off and the staff were able to safely retrieve the cub for an evaluation at 10:22 a.m. Veterinarians immediately performed CPR and other life-saving measures but the cub did not respond.

Mei Xiang is under close observation.

Veterinarians’ first observations include:

• The cub was in good body condition and weighed just under 100g
• No outward sign of trauma
• No outward sign of infection

As The Associated Press reports, the panda cub's birth had been a surprise. Mei Xiang had five failed pregnancies before giving birth.

One of the many tweets posted since the news broke sums up the mood:

This is a developing story and will be updated.