Sex of recently-born panda still a mystery

September 6, 2007

San Diego Zoo veterinarians are still not ready to say whether the baby panda, born August 3rd, is a boy or a girl. The delay in identifying the gender of the cub is unusual (past babies have been gender identified by their second week of life). Zoo veterinarian, Geoff Pye D.V.M., says that it is just too early to tell in this cub and they hope to be able to say something definitive after a routine medical exam this week.

The baby cub can usually be seen with its mother through the San Diego Zoo's live panda cam. Unfortunately the cam was not available to on-line guests for several hours, causing some concern among panda fans. Zoo officials state that the cam has been experiencing technical difficulties. They indicate they have had a number of calls from people who have not been able to access the cam today and they are assuring everyone that the baby panda is doing fine.