Second Taipei-born panda cub is female

Photo taken on June 28, 2020 shows the newborn giant panda cub delivered by giant panda Yuan Yuan at Taipei Zoo in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. (Taipei Zoo/Handout via Xinhua)

The zoo hopes that the panda cub will be healthy and grown-up enough to meet the public by Christmas.

TAIPEI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The second cub of giant panda Yuan Yuan, born Sunday afternoon at the Taipei Zoo, is female and weighs about 186 grams, the zoo said Monday.

The newborn cub is in good condition but suffered a minor injury on her back, possibly by her mother, when she tried to grasp and cuddle with her, Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao said at a press conference.

The cub has been fed with the milk taken from Yuan Yuan by zookeepers, since the mother panda had failed to feed her for five hours since the birth, Tsao said.

"She had drunk a total of 18 ml of milk four times by Monday morning," he said.

Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan, the panda pair who arrived in Taipei as a goodwill gift from the Chinese mainland in December 2008, had their first cub, a female, on July 6, 2013.

According to the zoo, Yuan Yuan has received artificial insemination from Tuan Tuan every year since 2015. This year's operation, conducted on February 26 and 27, has been successful and she has shown signs of pregnancy, such as eating less, since June 2.

The cub was born at 1:53 p.m. Sunday after five hours of labor.

The Taipei Zoo extended gratitude to the mainland experts for providing expertise online, Tsao said.

"They could not be at the scene due to epidemic control policies, but closely communicated with us online, and provided valuable help," he said.

The zoo hopes that the panda cub will be healthy and grown-up enough to meet the public by this Christmas, he said.