2021-03-03 Xiao Qi Ji ~ Teepee Triumph, Hammock Survey & Sleep!

#PandaStory Day 194: Another day outdoors for Xiao Qi Ji and his mother Mei Xiang! Today he was able to successfully get down off the teepee climbing structure all by himself! Also today Qi Ji explored every corner of the hammock ... thoroughly ... and soon after went to sleep ON the hammock! So cute! Similar to yesterday, Qi Ji was out around 8am, and pretty much the first thing he did was climb the teepee climbing structure. Around 9am, with Mei bleating her encouragement (be sure to turn up your volume to hear her), he descends one of the structure's legs ... just like he practiced yesterday! The gate to the patio was closed, so Qi Ji hung around while momma Mei and daddyTian Tian had treats, and then he went trotting off to explore the pool, as well as play with the strappy ball. Just after 9am, Mei and Qi Ji go indoors, and once again he is all over her back legs while she enjoys her treats! Have to respect Mei's agility, and ability to multi-task as he chews on her paws! Then she goes back outside (not shown), and he sees the door closed to room 3 (and the den), one of the lessons he has to learn. So he amuses himself by walking on his hind legs along the wall of windows, the walls, and the closed door! Also, I hadn't seen him descend the rock ramp along the back wall of room 2, so that was fun to see. Around 9:40am Mei comes back inside, and after sniffing for treats, she leaves ... and look quick because Qi Ji comes out of the "HideOut", and scoots outside after her. After a bit more treat time for mom and dad, Qi Ji is off exploring and climbing a pile of logs ... and then he heads toward the hammock structure. Today he got on the hammock, and went around and checked out all 4 corners of it ... I couldn't decide which camera footage to use, so I did a PIP (Picture in Picture) to show how methodical he was! By 10:30ish he was sleeping on the hammock. He'd periodically wake up and roll over, but he stayed in the hammock. Around 11:40am Mei Xiang was seen out patrolling the yard, no doubt trying to call him indoors. She did manage to wake him up and get him to move off the hammock and onto the log support. But the cams switched indoors ... and around noon Qi Ji walked through the patio door into room 2. There he found Mei Xiang, and he climbed on her, and it looked like she offered to nurse him, but he left for the den. (I've been seeing him nurse 1 - 2 times a day, usually during the night). Around 2ish, after a brief nap, Qi Ji is in the den slurping his treats off his "plate", making cute little vocalizations. But then momma Mei comes in and polishes off his treats ... and he cries the most pitiful cry! But soon he was off in dreamland ... and as I type this over 3 hours later he is still asleep. Note from Doxie: I respectively ask that you do not post comments disparaging the Smithsonian's National Zoo's treatment of their Giant Pandas, or Mei Xiang's parenting of Xiao Qi Ji, or any comparisons to other Zoos. Comments pertaining to anything other than the video content will be removed. Also, a reminder that I am not employed by or affiliated with the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping this a place of positivity, celebration and joy! All video footage recorded by me from the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Panda Cam public website: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/pa... #PandaStory #MeiXiang #XiaoQiJi