Giant panda born at Taipei Zoo, a second cub for pair sent by China as unity gift to Taiwan

Yuan Yuan has cub after five-hour labour, newborn weighing 186 grams being treated for minor back injury, say Taipei Zoo staff

Cub is sibling to Yuan Zai, born in 2013, the first giant panda born in Taiwan

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A zookeeper feeds milk to a panda cub born at Taipei Zoo in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 28, 2020. The female cub is giant panda Yuan Yuan's second baby born at Taipei Zoo through artificial insemination. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:40pm, 29 Jun 2020Updated: 10:58pm, 29 Jun 2020

A giant panda given by China as a gift to Taiwan has given birth to a second female cub after being artificially inseminated, Taipei Zoo announced on Monday.

Yuan Yuan and her partner Tuan Tuan have been top attractions since arriving from mainland China in 2008 as a symbol of what were then warm relations across the Taiwan Strait.

Giant panda Tuan Tuan eats bamboo at Taipei Zoo, Taiwan, on Monday, June 29, 2020. Tuan Tuan and female giant panda Yuan Yuan gave birth to a baby cub at Taipei Zoo on Sunday, June 28. The female cub is the pair’s second baby born at Taipei Zoo through artificial insemination. Photo: EPA-EFE

The unnamed cub, weighing 186 grams, was born on Sunday after a five-hour labour, the zoo said.

“We were hoping the mother could look after the cub. But Yuan Yuan was probably very tired from the birth … so after evaluation we decided to remove the cub” to be fed by caretakers, the zoo said in a statement.

It added that the newborn cub was in stable condition after being treated for a minor injury to its back.

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