San Diego Zoo Panda Cub Set for Public Debut

Thousands have watched him grow on YouTube; now see him live.

WELCOME, XIAO LIWU: There are always a half dozen debates going about YouTube at any one time -- is it a good place to launch a comedy career? Can it detract from your company's ultimate message? And can you watch too many kitten videos? -- but there's no arguing its power when it comes to one of the most famous pandas in the world right now. We're talking about Xiao Liwu, the cub born at the San Diego Zoo last summer. Zoo staff have diligently recorded each of the tumbly panda's doctor visits and then posted them on YouTube and the zoo's Facebook page.

If you think the immediate result was thousands of clicks and comments, you'd be correct. If you think that people also started wondering when Xiao Liwu, which means "little gift," and his mother Bai Yun would say hello to the public, you'd be correct again. And now that big day is nigh: Xiao Liwu will make his public debut, alongside his mom, on Thursday, Jan. 10. He'll enter his new outdoor habitat accompanied by Bai Lun, but his "availability to guests will be determined by the comfort level of his mother and may be intermittent throughout the time when the area is open." In short, you might not see the wee cub at first glance, or even after a wait -- it is all new to him, his habitat, so there may be a period of getting acquainted with it all.

But you should get acquainted with this last video released by the zoo. A panda cub, a tire, and a ball? YouTube gold. 

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