pseudopregnancy

In late July, the giant panda began sleeping more, eating less, nest building and body licking — behaviors consistent with pregnancy or pseudopregnancy, the zoo said.

“This is one of the things that can happen for giant female pandas. Their hormones can be the same whether they are having a pregnancy or a pseudopregnancy, which is why we monitor her so closely.”

The panda had been experiencing a pseudopregnancy — where a panda has behavioral and hormonal reactions that mimic an actual pregnancy — over the past several months, officials said.

As shown by body chemistry, the National Zoo said on Thursday, Mei Xiang “will either give birth or experience the final stages of a pseudopregnancy within the next month.”

According to the San Diego Zoo blog, "a pseudopregnancy occurs when a female exhibits the signs and symptoms of pregnancy when in fact she is not experiencing one."