Yongyong, a panda from the Qinling Giant Panda Research Center, gave birth to a female cub.
Giant panda Yongyong is 6 years old this year and is the youngest panda mother who has successfully bred for the first time. The birth of Yongyong cubs marks the third generation of the artificial breeding population of giant pandas in the central Qinling Mountains.
At 12:56 on August 17, 2020, the giant panda Yongyong of the Qinling Giant Panda Research Center successfully gave birth to a female cub weighing 152g.
Yongyong showed signs of estrus on April 2 this year. The staff in charge of giant panda breeding adopted a combination of reproductive hormone monitoring and Shiqingfangdui method to determine the best mating time. On April 11, after completing artificial insemination with the fresh sperm of the brown giant panda Qizai, she and the giant panda Erlang finally completed four intercourses after several attempts.
Yongyong, a first-time mother, not good at taking care of her baby. She found the trick of picking up the cub trying several times, fortunately, there are no dangers. However, its motherhood is very good, and it is always cautious in every move of holding the child. With the help of the nursery staff, Yongyong gradually learned the movements of holding, licking, and breastfeeding in a few days, and her posture was much more coordinated than the beginning, a bit like a mother.
Due to the loss of appetite nearly a month before delivery, Yongyong’s body is relatively weak and exhausted after delivery. She takes the baby to nap from time to time, and accidentally holds the baby too tightly. The childcare staff has been around 24 hours to remind her and take care of them.
Yongyong’s mother was the first panda born in the center to be successfully artificially bred. She is 17 years old this year. Because she was born in Louguantai, she was named Lousheng. Lou Sheng has successfully bred 4 litters and 6 cubs and is a panda mother with very good motherhood.
Lou Sheng’s mother Xuexue is in her 30s this year. Xuexue, Lou Sheng, Yongyong and Yongyong cubs present the scene of the four generations of the Qinling panda family under one roof.
