TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Washington zoo panda named 'Little Miracle'

The votes are in and counted and the giant panda born at the Washington zoo three months ago is to be named Xiao Qi Ji, or "Little Miracle".

  (Agence France-Presse)
Washington, United States
Wed, November 25, 2020

Share This Article

Change Size

Washington zoo panda named 'Little Miracle' This November 18, 2020 handout photo obtained November 23, 2020 courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, shows the 3-month-old giant panda cub. (Handout/Smithsonian's National Zoo/AFP)

T

he votes are in and counted and the giant panda born at the Washington zoo three months ago is to be named Xiao Qi Ji, or "Little Miracle", the zoo in the US capital said on Monday.

Xiao Qi Ji was one of four Mandarin Chinese names put up for public online vote and nearly 135,000 votes were received between November 16 and 20, the Smithsonian's National Zoo said.

"Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and Xiao Qi Ji's birth offered the world a much-needed moment of joy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic," the zoo said in a statement. 

The male panda was born on August 21 to Mei Xiang, 22, the second-oldest documented giant panda in the world to give birth.

She was artificially inseminated in March with frozen semen from Tian Tian, 23.

More than 1.5 million people have tuned in to watch the baby panda and Mei Xiang on the zoo's Giant Panda Cam.

"Watching Xiao Qi Ji always puts a smile on my face," said Steve Monfort, director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. 

Read also: It's a boy: Gender reveal for Washington's new panda cub

"We are grateful that those who share in our joy have helped us pick the perfect name for our panda cub."

Mei Xiang has now given birth to four surviving offspring.

All cubs born at the zoo move to China when they are four years old under a partnership contract in which China owns the pandas.

The zoo's breeding agreement with China expires in December and it is currently discussing an extension with the Chinese authorities.

Fewer than 2,000 giant pandas still live in their natural habitat in China, while some 600 more live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, according to the zoo.

The Washington zoo closed its doors on Monday for an undetermined time because of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the United States.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.