The National Zoo keeps an eye on a potential panda pregnancy

(WDAY TV) -- There's a big question gripping Washington D.C. It's not who will win the presidential election, or whether Hillary will run in 20-16. It's a potential panda pregnancy at the National Zoo.

You'd think with modern technology like ultrasounds, zoologists would be able to give it a definitive yes or no. But it turns out, predicting panda pregnancy is tough stuff.

The female is building a nest, her hormones are changing, and her uterine wall is thickening, yet it's not a done deal.

Panda moms often have false pregnancies. The female here has had 7 -- and only one cub in that time. If she fails this time, zookeepers say she could be headed back to China, replaced by a "young, more fertile female."

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