Taiwan panda cub spends first night with doting mother

Taiwan's first newborn panda stayed overnight for the first time with her mother, zookeepers said yesterday, following a heartwarming reunion that took place in the international limelight.

Zookeepers in Taipei had to separate tiny Yuan Zai from her mother, Yuan Yuan, last month because the cub needed care and round-the-clock monitoring in an incubator after she was slightly hurt days after being born.

The first-time mother accidentally injured the cub's leg, zookeepers said.

The weeks-old female cub was put inside Yuan Yuan's enclosure on Tuesday where the mother gently picked her up, embraced and breastfed her in a touching scene of animal affection.

Encouraged by the smooth development, keepers decided to let the mother herself take care of the cub overnight - from late Wednesday night until early yesterday morning.

"We hope they can gradually get used to each other," a spokesman for the Taipei city zoo said. "It seemed that everything was fine."