(CNN) -- The gender of the cutest cub at the National Zoo is no longer a secret: It's a girl! The zoo announced the gender Thursday morning, as well as the paternity of the giant panda cub born last month. The cub is the offspring of Washington's celebrity panda, Mei Xiang, and the father is Tian Tian, a 16-year-old, 264-pound male who lives in the same zoo, officials said. The giant panda mama gave birth to the cub August 23, to the excitement of hordes of fans watching it on public panda cams. Watch the zoo's Panda Cam The name of the female cub will be announced 100 days after the birth, per Chinese tradition.
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NEW: The new panda cub is a female
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NEW: The father of the cub born last month is Tian Tian
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Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species
@placeholder was artificially inseminated by sperm from two different pandas, zoo officials said.