Last August, a baby panda was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The zoo held an online vote to choose its name. Out of four Mandarin Chinese names, the majority of 135,000 voters chose the name Xiao Qi Ji (shiau-chee-jee). It means “little miracle” in English.
In the wild, giant pandas are at risk of dying out. Much of the forested area where they live in China has been cut down to make room for homes and farms. Fewer than 2,000 wild giant pandas remain. To help, scientists are breeding pandas, or helping pandas have babies, in zoos like the National Zoo.
Xiao Qi Ji is healthy and enjoys playing with his mom, says animal keeper Mariel Lally. When he turns 4, he will likely join a breeding center in China. “Someday, his future offspring could be introduced to the wild,” Lally says.