The newest addition to the resident panda family at the Smithsonian's National Zoo is a baby boy. The gender reveals came six weeks after the world tuned in to watch mom Mei Xiang give birth. A swab from the cub's cheek was taken for DNA analysis, since male and female giant pandas appear similar at birth.

At 22, Mei Xiang is the second oldest documented giant panda in the world to give birth. Pandas at the zoo are on loan from China, and cubs will move to their ancestral home when they turn four years old. Fewer than 2,000 giant pandas still live in their natural habitat in China. Some 600 more live in zoos and breeding centers around the world.