Second giant panda born in Malaysia makes public debut

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Is there a cuter animal in the world than a baby giant panda? The first sighting of Malaysia’s newest panda on Saturday morning has made even the hardest-faced photographers at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur smile.

It was the first time that the media and public were invited to see the yet to be named cub.

When the zoo announced to the media during a press conference in January that Liang Liang had given birth to a second baby, it came as a complete shock to everyone. She was only separated from her first cub Nuan Nuan late last year, when Nuan Nuan was sent back to her ancestral home in China’s Sichuan Province.

The four-month-old female giant panda cub, born to mother Liang Liang and father Xing Xing, meets the public for the first time at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. /VCG Photo

“The father and mother are in very good condition, so we monitored the female’s reproductive physiology for breeding season,” said Dr. Mat Naim Ramli, director of zoology at Malaysia’s Zoo Negara. “We managed to observe peak oestrus in October and we mixed them, and had successful mating.”

It was another record-breaking performance by Liang Liang and her mate Xing Xing. They achieved the fastest successful birth in captivity with the arrival of their first cub just over a year after they came to Malaysia. To have a second cub in the space of four years, keeping in mind that the two adults were kept apart for two years of that time, well, that’s unprecedented.

At just over four months the bundle of black and white fur weighs 9 kilograms. That’s 60 times what it weighed when it first entered the world as a tiny, pink creature that resembled a baby mouse.

A four-month-old female giant panda cub, the second offspring of parents Liang Liang and Xing Xing who are on loan from China, is unveiled for the first time inside the panda enclosure at Malaysia's National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur. /VCG Photo‍

“In terms of growth performance, this second one is quite fast compared to Nuan Nuan, its elder sibling,” Dr. Mat Naim said. Her movement is still limited, but that will change fast.

“Nuan Nuan at six months, she liked to climb. She explored every corner, damaged all the trees. Now we have to put extra fencing up in case this baby does the same thing.”

China’s new ambassador to Malaysia also got his first glimpse of the baby on Saturday.

The four-month old cub weighs 60 times what she did at birth. /CGTN Photo

“I’m very happy to see just now the new born baby and she’s very healthy and very comfortable. I have to thank Zoo Negara of Malaysia for their wonderful job,” said Ambassador Bai Tian.

“Now we have three friendship ambassadors of China to Malaysia. Then I’m the fourth one. We share some features. We are both a little bit fat,” he joked. “And we share the same job – the job to promote China-Malaysia friendship and cooperation.”

The baby will be a big draw to the zoo’s already popular Giant Panda Conservation Center, as visitors watch her achingly cute antics.

Liang Liang conceived shortly after being separated from her first cub. /CGTN Photo

The public will be asked to select a name for the new baby in an online competition, with the Chinese government, zoo and Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources screening the choices, and choosing a winner.

The previous baby’s name Nuan Nuan translates roughly as warm and friendly. It’s hard to think of panda babies as anything but, though one might also add adorable, mischievous and rambunctious.

Father Xing Xing has no contact with mother or cub. /CGTN Photo

Mother and baby are kept entirely separately from father Xing Xing. When the baby reaches around 18 months, its keepers will gradually start to separate her from her mother and get her used to staying in a crate, in preparation for being sent to China. That will happen at about two years of age, after which time mother and daughter will no longer be able to be kept together.

But there’s still 20 months to go till that day comes – 20 more months for Malaysians and foreign visitors to visit the zoo and see the baby panda.