Giant panda at Washington's National Zoo gives birth to her third cub

        
A giant panda at a US zoo on Friday gave birth to her third cub.     

Smithsonian's National Zoo, in Washington, said that Mei Xiang gave birth Friday afternoon (local time), two hours after her waters broke.        

The cub's gender was not immediately known.        

The zoo had been on round-the-clock panda watch since 7 August when Mei Xiang began showing behavioural changes consistent with a pregnancy or pseudo-pregnancy.         

A Chinese panda expert performed artificial inseminations on Mei Xiang in March after she failed to breed naturally with male panda Tian Tian.          

Zookeepers had not been certain that she was pregnant, because she refused to cooperate with attempts to perform an ultrasound.            

Fans of the 15-year-old panda who had been tracking her suspected pregnancy on a "Giant Panda Cam" flocked to the live feed.           

Zoo keepers and veterinarians will examine the cub within the next 48 hours.        

Mei Xiang is expected to spend almost all of her time in her den for the next two weeks with her new cub.           

She had previously given birth to two cubs.          

Tai Shan was born in 2005 and a week-old cub died last September.            

Panda cubs are especially delicate and vulnerable to infection and other illnesses.         

They are about the size of a stick of butter at birth.            

The first weeks of life are critical for the cubs as mothers have to make sure they stay warm and get enough to eat.            

The David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, which has been closed to the public since 2 August, will remain closed to provide quiet time for Mei Xiang and her cub.


AP