Baby Bao Bao Makes Much Anticipated Public Debut

Giant panda cub sleeps through much of it

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The sleepy giant panda cub Bao Bao didn’t have to be awake for long to make audiences at the Smithsonian National Zoo very happy at her public debut Saturday morning.

Bao Bao yawned and crawled around her enclosure before falling asleep within minutes of her debut. She later licked a bamboo stick, then went back to sleeping for much of the morning, the Washington Post reports.

During extended hours through Monday, visitors will be admitted one group at a time for 10 to 15-minute visits with Bao Bao.

Born August 23, she is the first panda to survive birth at the National Zoo since 2005. Some people in the crowd drove hundreds of miles to see her for the first time.

[The Washington Post]