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No longer a pink fluff, first panda born in city is today one month old

By Hu Min | August 9, 2016, Tuesday | Online Edition

THE first giant panda born in Shanghai is very healthy and energetic as she’s one-month old today. She will meet visitors officially soon, the Shanghai Wildlife Park operator said today.

The cub, weighing 1,497 grams now, experienced a physical examination today at the park, which hosts a giant panda preserve.

She was a pink fluff ball upon birth, and now a black-and-white cub, the park operator said. Black hair has been grown around the eyes and ears of the cub, and the classic "panda eyes" have been seen.

The cub is breast fed since birth and stays together with her mother all the time, said Cao Liang, deputy general manager of the park.

Her arms and legs are strong and her healthy growth indicates that she is very likely able to say hello to visitors officially before the National Day holiday in October, said Cao.

Before that time, the cub will meet visitors from time to time depending on the real situation, park operator said.

"We need to examine the situation because Guo Guo, the mother of the new born cub, is very protective of her, and we need to check Guo Guo's emotion when taking the cub out for display," said Min Yingguo, director of the Animal Management Department of the park.

Only lucky visitors have the chance to see the cub face to face, he added. But visitors are able to see the behavior of Guo Guo and the cub as there is a camera recording them.

Via the broadcast camera, Guo Guo was seen cradling the cub, and kissing her with deep love from time to time. 

The appetite of Guo Guo, who is in post-natal care, has not fully recovered, and it is uncertain when she can meet visitors again, park operator said.

Animal keepers are assisting in the lactation of Guo Guo, and her milk-secretion will be monitored closely to decide when she could be introduced to the public again, said the park.

The cub will take physical examination regularly, and her name will be announced on September 9, the two-month of her birth as the park is seeking a name for her from the public.

The park was designated to be a giant panda preserve in Shanghai by the State Forestry Administration of China in March, and the other two newly designated preserves are in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Based on an agreement, a giant panda pair, including Guo Guo, were transported to the park from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong in Sichuan Province. 

The cub weighed 151 grams when she was born compared with the average 120 to 130 grams of a giant panda cub, and is a "fat girl", the park said.

The mother of 20-year-old Guo Guo is 38-year-old Jia Jia living in Ocean Park Hong Kong as the world’s oldest captive giant panda.

Guo Guo, who has previously mothered eight cubs, gave birth to a twin called Ping Ping and An An in Sichuan in 2008 after the Wenchuan earthquake. In Chinese, "Pingan" means safe. 

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