Absolutely Adorable Panda Cub Born In San Diego Zoo 'Bonding' With Mom
Jul. 30 2012, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
By Debbie Emery - RadarOnline.com Reporter
San Diego Zoo welcomed a new little bundle of black and white joy on Sunday when panda Bai Yun gave birth to her sixth cub, and RadarOnline.com has video of the proud mother and her adorable newborn.
While the 4four ounce cub won't be on display to the public for several months so that mother and baby can go through the crucial "bonding period," the new addition to the zoo can be tracked on a special Panda Cam.
The black and white footage shows Mama Panda curled up tightly in a nest of straw in the birthing den at the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Research Station, while her cub "vocalized" loudly.
According to the zoo's panda blog, cubs are "are largely hairless and lacking in body fat; thus, Mom’s warm embrace is essential to their survival in those early days. To keep such a small cub warm, the much larger mother must hold the baby up off the ground in her arms" and never sets it down.
Bai Yun is no stranger to the cameras, as her cub's birth was closely watched by anxious zookeepers, veterinarians and researchers on Sunday because at 20 years old her advanced age made it a high risk pregnancy.
The latest addition brings the total number of pandas at the San Diego Zoo to four: Bai Yun, her mate Gao Gao, their 3-year-old son Yun Zi and now the unnamed cub, whose sex will not be known for several months, reported the Los Angeles Times.
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Under a panda-loan agreement with the Chinese government, four other cubs born to Bai Yun have been sent to a panda research facility in China: Hua Mei, Mei Sheng, Su Lin and Zhen Zhen. It is expected that her sixth cub will be her last as her reproductive years are most likely over.
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