Damn it, is she pregnant or not? (Photo by @nationalzoo)

The National Zoo said yesterday it will receive $400,000 over the next two years from the Ford Motor Co. to study—what else?—giant pandas. The car company’s charitable arm is donating to the zoo, as well as the Wildlife Disease Control Center in China to fund research scientists hope will prevent disease in both wild and captive giant pandas.

Part of Ford’s gift to the National Zoo will also go toward upgrading the monitoring devices at its David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, the panda shelter named after the D.C. philanthropist who last year gave the zoo a $4.5 million for its panda reproduction programs.

The panda habitat will receive improved cameras that monitor the Mei Xiang’s and Tian Tian’s activities. Among the things zoo staff will be watching for is whether or not Mei Xiang is pregnant. According to the zoo’s news release, its staff is now on a round-the-clock “cubwatch” to determine whether Mei Xiang is pregnant or if—like the last five times the zoo thought a panda cub was on the way—she’s just faking it.

All joking aside, the new camera system will replace the existing 48-camera analog set-up with a digital system that will feed into the National Zoo’s webcams. Eventually, panda researchers will be able to monitor Mei Xiang and Tian Tian without being in the building.

But the search for a sibling for Butterstick continues in earnest. The zoo closed down the panda house yesterday afternoon in order to give Mei, who is experience elevated hormone levels consistent with either pregnancy or pseudopregnancy, some rest. Meanwhile, zoo staffers were practicing making panda formula and making other preparations in the event that she is, in fact, with child.

Is Mei Xiang pregnant? Who knows? But at least the panda sex money is being spent.