Panda Pregnant; Press Piqued

Gothamist has the best readers ever: We received multiple emails asking why we hadn't posted about the exciting news coming from San Diego. Yes, the news that Bai Yun the panda is pregnant...with twins! And in a plot twist worthy of a soap opera, zoo keepers aren't sure who the father is - they inseminated her on two occasions with the sperm of two different pandas, Shi Shi, who is now in China, and Gao Gao, the panda male currently in San Diego. Truthfully, Gothamist was wary of posting about it is because panda pregnancies are very delicate, especially pregnancy with twins, and we didn't want to get too excited about it. From our panda knowledge, one twin tends to be ignored as the panda mother can only pay attention to one. But the San Diego Zoo is a top notch facility, and we're sure that as we speak, they are trying to force Bai Yun into bed rest with tons of bamboo and carrots. See for yourself with the San Diego Zoo Panda Cam.

Learn more about Bai Yun's first baby, Hua Mei (also the product of artificial insemination), and look at the great PBS site about her birth. And at last check, National Zoo panda-ologists aren't sure if Mei Xiang is expecting. Gothamist, of course, tried to get in at the ground floor with that possible pregnancy: We covered the possible quickie.