最近，美国的动物爱好者们迎来了一件开心的事儿。当地时间11月23日，美国史密森学会国家动物园宣布，大熊猫“美香”今年8月诞下的雄性幼崽获名“小奇迹”。

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

Animal lovers in the United States celebrated their newest giant panda cub on Monday by naming him Xiao Qi Ji, which translates into English as "little miracle".

今年8月21日，22岁的旅美大熊猫“美香”在华盛顿动物园产下“小奇迹”。据报道，这是美国动物园首次通过冷冻精液人工授精使熊猫成功受孕并分娩。“美香”也成为旅美大熊猫中产仔年龄最大的一只。

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

据华盛顿国家动物园介绍，自“小奇迹”出生以来，已有超过100万访客通过网络视频直播关注“小奇迹”的成长过程。由于疫情影响，该动物园熊猫馆从今年3月以来暂停对公众开放，人们可以继续通过全天候网络直播、视频等方式关注“美香”“添添”和“小奇迹”的生活。

As a public health precaution due to COVID-19, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is closed to the public. The zoo's panda zone has been closed since March due to the pandemic, making the 24/7 webcam the only way people can see the cub and his parents. 

Xiao Qi Ji was born at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat Aug. 21 at 6:35 p.m. to mother Mei Xiang and father Tian Tian. His birth was streamed live on the Zoo’s Giant Panda Cam, and since then more than 1 million virtual visitors have tuned in to watch him grow. Giant panda fans can see Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian via the Giant Panda Cam, one of five live animal webcams hosted on the Zoo’s website. 

据悉，“小奇迹”与“福仔”“幸福”“仔仔”另外3个名字成为这只幼崽的候选名字。华盛顿国家动物园于11月16日至20日发起网络投票，约13.5万人参与了为期5天的网络投票，“小奇迹”从4个候选名字中脱颖而出。

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

After five days of voting and just under 135,000 votes, the winning name is Xiao Qi Ji (SHIAU-chi-ji), which translates as “little miracle” in English. It was one of four Mandarin Chinese names that were offered for a public online vote from Nov.

园方23日发布声明说，大熊猫是濒危野生动物和希望的国际性象征，“小奇迹”的出生为处于新冠疫情中的世界带来了亟需的欢乐时光。这个名字不仅反映了它出生时的特殊环境，也为了庆祝各方为保护大熊猫所进行的合作。

Giant pandas are an international symbol of endangered wildlife and hope, and Xiao Qi Ji’s birth offered the world a much-needed moment of joy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. His name reflects the extraordinary circumstances under which he was born and celebrates the collaboration between colleagues who strive to conserve this species.

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

在动物园的组织下，其他动物园的动物也纷纷行动起来，向小邻居表示欢迎。狐狸和鸟类都在各自园区里“竖起”牌子，欢迎“小奇迹”↓ 

图源：新华社视频

不过，“小奇迹”这个名字的发音着实让不少美国人有些挠头。为了方便美国民众，史密森学会给出了一个非常歪果仁的发音指南：“Shiau Chi Ji”。但即便如此，网友们也能从视频中听出多种不同的发音↓

视频来源：新华社

中国驻美国大使崔天凯表示，“小奇迹”的出生是一个奇迹，疫情期间，这让我们大家都感到振奋。中国和美国的朋友们都很关心“小奇迹”。“小大使”的成长，我们共享的喜悦与友谊，再次使我们联系在一起。

"Xiao Qi Ji's birth is a true miracle that has been so uplifting to all of us during the pandemic," Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said in a video congratulatory message.

"We are connected again in the growth of our little ambassador, and in our shared joy and friendship," he said.

图源：中国日报视频截图

“小奇迹”的到来让不少人欣喜的同时，一件“愁”事儿也随之而来。根据动物园与中国野生动物保护协会达成的大熊猫合作研究协议，动物园中出生的所有熊猫幼崽都将在4岁时返回中国。此前，“美香”产下的三只熊猫幼崽都已经回到中国。

美国史密森学会国家动物园和生物保护研究所主管史蒂夫·蒙福特表示，目前的合作研究协议将于今年12月到期，动物园目前正在与中方讨论12月7日以后大熊猫的安排，双方已于今年1月开始讨论延期问题。他说，大熊猫是美国与中国伙伴关系与友好的象征之一，该园与中方有着长期友好密切合作关系，自1972年以来开始已有48年历史。蒙福特说，他们希望大熊猫合作研究协议能够继续延期，目前在等待中方答复。

Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub born at the National Zoo in more than four decades since the first pair, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing, arrived in April 1972, weeks after then US president Richard Nixon's historic China visit.

Now they face a somber reality－the loan agreement for the cub's parents, which arrived at the National Zoo two decades ago, will expire on Dec 7.

As part of the Zoo’s cooperative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, all cubs born at the Zoo move to China when they are 4 years old. The Zoo’s current cooperative breeding agreement expires in December. The Zoo is currently discussing the arrangement of the giant pandas beyond Dec. 7 with colleagues in China.

"It is our hope that we will have these pandas for just a few more years," Steven Monfort, director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, told China Daily last Sunday.

"And then in the future, after they go to China, in the long run, we'd very much like to keep this relationship going, and maybe that means another agreement with a different set of pandas," he said.

Right now, the only thing the National Zoo has requested is an extension for Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the current pair, instead of asking for any new pandas, according to Monfort.

He went to Beijing for talks about the loan in January, right before the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel, and said he is now waiting for "our Chinese colleagues to give a final answer".

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

此前，社交媒体上出现了对动物园对待“美香”方式的质疑，比如从视频来看怀疑“美香”产房空间小、伙食差等。

During the pandemic, some people have expressed concern about the nutrition of Mei Xiang after her delivery and the "extremely narrow space "of the den where she gave birth.

旅美大熊猫“美香”与幼崽在一起。（美国史密森学会国家动物园视频截图）

对于“美香”待产和产崽后长时间待在一个墙角，蒙福特解释说，野外大熊猫生产时会选择相对狭小、舒适有安全感的巢穴。“美香”选择了这样的产房，而且她可以随时走到笼舍休息，或者到户外活动。

11月时拍摄的产后的“美香”。图源：nationalzoo.si.edu
Regarding the den size, Monfort said that a panda giving birth, just like doing so in the wild, will seek out a smaller, comfortable, safe space. The den is something that Mei Xiang chose herself, as the panda has access to anywhere she wants to go, he added.

据中国日报报道，有11年照顾熊猫经验的饲养员马蒂·迪尔瑞介绍说，幼崽出生几周到一个月内，大熊猫为了照顾幼崽进食较少。工作人员进入检查幼崽状况时，还会专门给“美香”提供竹子、甘蔗等美食。据悉，目前“美香”和“小奇迹”的体重都在上涨，状态很好。

11月时拍摄的产后的“美香”。 图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

Marty Dearie, who has been taking care of pandas over the past 11 years, said a panda usually does not eat much in the first couple of weeks, up to a month, to focus on the cub. Dearie and his colleagues offered bamboo, sugar cane and some treats to Mei Xiang to make her happy when they entered the enclosure to check on the cub.

"Both the cub and Mei Xiang are continuing to gain weight. They're both doing fantastic, and we couldn't be happier," he told China Daily.

据新华社报道，动物园工作人员布朗—帕尔斯格罗夫介绍说，“美香”现在每天要吃30公斤左右的新鲜竹子。为保证竹子新鲜，动物园每周分两次采购、现砍现运，饲养员每天会按照超出“美香”食量的分量来准备。

至于社交媒体上“美香”被投喂“冰坨子”的说法，他解释说，那实际上是一根混合了切块水果、稀释果汁的“水果冰棒”，“如果给它一个苹果，可能30秒就吃完了”，而“水果冰棒”和甘蔗可以延长“美香”进食时间，让它晚一会儿再进屋，给饲养员有更多时间打扫笼舍内卫生。

图源：nationalzoo.si.edu

在熊猫馆竹子储藏室，新华社记者看到约300公斤竹子。储藏室装有制冷设备和定时喷水装置。

美国华盛顿史密森学会国家动物园储藏的竹子。（美国史密森学会国家动物园视频截图）

“美香”母子状况如何？戳下方视频查看详情↓

视频来源：新华社

中国大熊猫保护研究中心在一份给新华社的声明中说，一直以来，中国大熊猫保护研究中心和史密森学会国家动物园保持着密切联系，双方建立了长效交流指导机制。大熊猫国际合作交流是双方相互交流学习、共同推动大熊猫保护研究事业的有效合作形式，二十年来的合作交流不光促进了大熊猫饲养保育技术的发展，更推动了全世界人民对于中国以大熊猫为代表的野生动物保护事业的认可和支持。

文章来源：21世纪英文报