The National Zoo conducted their second exam on the as-yet unnamed panda cub yesterday, confirming not only that the baby is indeed a boy (not evident from the picture — that’s its tail, silly) but that panda moms love their babies. Hearing the little guy squeal made Mei Xiang

become agitated and run around the enclosure. She defecated and also vocalized, producing sharp high-pitched barks. After was reunited with her cub and had the cub in her arms, Mei settled down quickly.

We’re glad mother and son were reunited, and hope the separation wasn’t too traumatic for either.

In other baby panda news, local blogs Blah, Blah, Black Sheep, Beaverhausen, and Articulatory Loop have begun a campaign to name the new panda the Mandarin equivalent of “Butterstick” after the size comparison used by both the Washington Post and L.A. Times when writing about the panda recently born at the San Diego Zoo. The last panda cub to reach 100 days old (the traditional time when a baby panda is named) was named Mei Sheng, meaning “Born in U.S.A.”, by the China Conservation Wildlife Association. Our baby panda will be named in October, and according to a National Zoo spokesperson, will also be named by Chinese authorities. A crack team of linguists are hard at work coming up with the Mandarin equivalent of “Butterstick,” so stay tuned.

Image from the National Zoo