![]() Mei Xiang is believed to have had at least six pseudopregnancies. A pseudopregnancy mimics a real pregnancy, but instead of giving birth at the end of it, a giant panda's hormones and behaviors return to normal. Giant pandas can experience pseudopregnancy.All their cubs were born via artificial insemination. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have never successfully mated.Smithsonian scientists developed ways to predict that window of time to improve chances for pregnancy. Giant pandas are fertile for less than three days each year.Mei Xiang gave birth to Xiao Ji QI at age 22, making her the oldest panda to give birth in the United States - and probably the second oldest in the world (that we know of).They can have offspring until their early 20s. Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between 4 and 8 years old.A panda’s jaws are so strong, they have a bite strength similar to that of a lion!.Like all bears, pandas are potentially dangerous. Zoo staff never enter an enclosure with an adult giant panda.On special occasions, such as birthdays, the pandas receive a huge frozen cake.Xiao Qi Ji’s favorite treat is a grape-flavored fruitsicle.Mei Xiang and Tian Tian’s favorite treat is an apple juice-flavored fruitsicle.A lot of science goes into feeding pandas and other animals! At the Zoo, giant pandas eat specially formulated nutritious biscuits, carrots, sweet potatoes and apples.In the past, the Zoo accepted donations of bamboo from the public - but not anymore.It also cuts bamboo from 20 stands located in the greater Washington, D.C., area. The Zoo's Department of Nutrition grows bamboo at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.To make up for their inefficient digestion, pandas need to consume a comparatively large amount of food - from 70 to 100 pounds of bamboo each day - to get all their nutrients.A giant panda's digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and much of what pandas eat is passed as waste. ![]()
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