National Zoo panda Mei Xiang gives birth to cub

WASHINGTON (CBS/WUSA) -- Washington National Zoo held a news conference on the new baby panda born Monday.

Female giant panda Mei Xiang at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, DC has given birth to a cub for the second time, Monday after years of failed pregnancies.

Scientists at the zoo had all but given up on Mei Xiang's chances of conceiving, but late Sunday, the 14-year-old Panda gave birth to a hairless cub that is about the size of a stick of butter.

The next few days will be critical and the newborn, as part of Chinese tradition, will be named when it is 100 days old.

Just four zoos in the U.S. have pandas, and Washington's pandas have special significance. In 1972, the pandas were the nation's gift from China to commemorate President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the country.