CNN Anderson Cooper 360 January 11, 2014 09:53:00
>> this is the crate that ling ling was shipped in in 1972. >> the first panda. >> yes. >> reporter: u.s. scientists have helped the panda along ever since the first bears were sent here from their native china following a visit by president nixon. researchers in the national zoo are now among the top authorities in the world for breeding them. yet births like this remain rare. >> every year you kind of hope for it. and every year it's been a disappointment since 2005. >> reporter: habitat loss has left only 1600 pandas in the wild, some 300 in captivity. small wonder, then, that this new arri...