Mei Xiang sleeping (she was licking her paws earlier), and Tian enjoying his fruity

awww, thats a cute pic of Mei sleeping and Tian enjoying his fruitie. good job catching them Junie. I bet poor Tai Shan really misses his fruities.

April 1

Zoo scientists detected a secondary rise in Mei Xiang's urinary progestagen levels on March 30. This hormone rise indicates that it should be 40 to 50 days before she either gives birth to a cub or comes to the end of a pseudopregnancy, or false pregnancy, which is common in giant pandas.

Similar to last year’s unusually early estrus, Mei Xiang once again came into heat at the beginning of January, with Zoo scientists artificially inseminating her with Tian Tian's semen on January 9 and 10. There is no conclusive study that indicates what causes panda ovulation, although scientists know that giant pandas mostly breed in late winter to early spring.

Since the artificial insemination, scientists have conducted weekly hormonal analyses on urine samples from Mei Xiang. Our veterinarians are also conducting weekly ultrasounds on her to monitor any changes in her reproductive tract and look for evidence of a fetus. So far, they have not seen an indication of one. Because panda fetuses do not start developing until the last weeks of a gestation period, the veterinarians say they do not yet expect to see a fetus. They stress that it is still too early to determine if Mei Xiang is pregnant or experiencing a pseudopregnancy. In 2005, in the last weeks leading up to the birth of Mei’s only cub. Tai Shan, she would not cooperate for her weekly ultrasounds, and it was not possible to definitively determine if she was pregnant.

source: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

April 7

Mei Xiang is just beginning to take a recess from her normal activities in correlation with her elevated progestagen levels. This compound is a metabolite or a specific component of progesterone, the hormone responsible for the physiological and behavioral changes associated with sustaining pregnancy. Daily urine samples provide us with a hormonal window into what might be transpiring inside her body.

In addition to hormone levels we are also closely watching changes in her behavior. Since this past Monday, Mei has decided after her morning training sessions to decline to go outdoors and instead return to her indoor enclosures. Although the den is available, she is not yet on retreat there. Completely relaxed and sated, Mei Xiang spends the next several hours lounging on the rock work, in air-conditioned comfort. Mei has over the past three weeks been slowly decreasing her bamboo consumption, but over the past two days instead of immediately consuming her produce (apple, carrot, and sweet potato), she has started to leave pieces behind. Today she left a perfectly cored apple after one of her now more delicate and selective feedings.

Mei has also started to groom her paws. Some of the grooming may be due to the juices of the delicious pear half, which she especially savors after her training session. However, she continued to lick and groom her paws today. This extended grooming is touchingly similar to the attention and care given to a cub. We are seeing just the beginning of grooming behavior associated with pregnancy. Female pandas may dramatically increase their body grooming during the last week of pregnancy, with a more focused attention on the ano-genital region. This behavior is a helpful indicator of an impending birth, or the end of a pseudopregnancy.

source: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

Tian gets a drink and Mei Xiang sleeps

Yesterday I seen Mei munching boo, I though her appettie wasn't good during pregancy phase heres' hoping she its small munchies
Still looks very calm and relaxed today. Tian looking for boo refill :dry:

Junie , I saw her munching some too yesterday... she also begged for and got an apple or pear (couldn't tell which)... but for the most part she was sleeping when I peeked in...

Tian gets his honey coated treat and Mei sleeps

I am trying to find who is who on the cams, with no luck
Just took this scap, they are munching on BOO