WASHINGTON — The nation’s beloved Giant Panda Habitat at Smithsonian’s National Zoo is closed starting Sunday to keep quiet around Mei Xiang’s den, the zoo announced.
Mei Xiang, a female panda, is exhibiting normal behaviors in line with a pregnancy — hormone rise, building a nest, decreased appetite, more sleep, reacting to loud noises — but it is not confirmed.
The zoo says it may simply be a “pseudopregnancy,” where pandas “do everything they would if they were pregnant … however, hormone levels return to baseline and females’ energy levels and behavior return to normal.”
The Panda Cam will still be available, and visitors to the zoo will be able to see the pandas in the outdoor habitats and viewing areas. Giant pandas Bei Bei and Tian Tian will have access to the outdoors until 2 p.m., though due to the weather, the zoo says the best time to catch the pandas is between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The zoo did not say when the indoor viewing area would reopen.
For more information, visit the National Zoo’s website.
