14 DAY TRIAL // Only a few days ago, the giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo towards the end of August underwent her first veterinary check-up.
Zoo employees say that, in order to perform the exam, vets had to wait for the cub's mom to get hungry and thirsty enough to leave the den and go looking for some bamboo and water.
The panda mom left her cub unattended for about 20 minutes, which was more than enough for vets to have a close look at her and concluded that she is in good health.
The panda cub weighs nearly 2 pounds (about 1 kilogram), and measures 10.6 inches (27 centimeters) from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. Her waistline is one of 9.8 inches (25 centimeters), so there is little denying that her mum is properly feeding her.
“It’s amazing to see how much she has grown in less than one month,” zoo employee Brandie Smith told the press, as cited by Zoo Borns. Furthermore, “Mei Xiang continues to be a great mom, as she was with her first cub, Tai Shan, and it shows.”