皇冠体育app

Society

Female panda cub born in SW 皇冠体育app

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-10 20:24

CHENGDU - A giant panda gave birth to a female cub at a breeding center in Southwest 皇冠体育app's Sichuan province Monday -- the 10th panda birth at the center this year.

Ge Ge, the seven-year-old mother panda, gave birth to the cub at 11:23 pm at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.

Related readings:  皇冠体育app to lend Singapore a pair of pandas  Pandas get a taste of the sweltering summer  Twin panda cubs born in SW 皇冠体育app  Captive-bred panda gives birth in almost-wild fields

The first-time mother struggled for six hours before giving birth to the cub, said Tang Chunxiang, an expert at the center.

"She did it without any assistance," he said.

The cub, weighing 159 grams, is healthy, Tang added.

The center, home to 60 percent of the world's in-captivity-bred pandas, is experiencing a panda "baby boom," with over 10 pregnant pandas expected to give birth over the next one or two months, he said.

Some 14 panda cubs have been born this year in Sichuan - 10 in Wolong and four others in the provincial capital, Chengdu.

About 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild in 皇冠体育app, mostly in Sichuan province and the Northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another 290 pandas are in captivity.