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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Oliver Browning

Watch as giant panda celebrates 25th birthday with cake at Washington’s National Zoo

Getty Images

Watch as keepers at the National Zoo in Washington DC present a birthday cake and other goodies to their giant panda, Mei Xiang, on her 25th birthday.

The female panda was born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province, before being moved to the US.

Mei Xiang has given birth to seven cubs, all at the National Zoo and fathered by Tian Tian.

Four of her cubs have survived to adulthood.

Mei Xiang’s most recent cub is a male, named Xiao Qi Ji, born on 21 August 2020.

Tian Tian, meanwhile, was moved back to China in 2010 per an agreement between the United States and China.

Last year, zookeepers made Mei Xiang a birthday cake made of ice as they marked 50 years since the first giant pandas came to Washington DC.

She will enter her outdoor enclosure and receives birthday treats at around 9am local time.

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