WASHINGTON — Jubilation over the recent birth of panda twins at the National Zoo turned to sadness Wednesday as one of the newborn cubs died after 3½ days.
The zoo’s panda mom, Mei Xiang, gave birth to the first cub Saturday at 5:35 p.m. and a second cub about five hours later.
Had both cubs survived, they would have been the 17-year-old panda’s third and fourth surviving offspring.
The remaining cub, the larger of the two, appears to be strong, robust and behaving normally, the zoo said. It remains with its mother.
Veterinarians did not immediately announce the cause of the smaller cub’s death but said they would perform a necropsy, the equivalent of a human autopsy.
“This is a hard loss for us,” said zoo director Dennis Kelly during a news conference at the zoo. “It’s really hard to keep these creatures thriving.”
