Giant panda Hao Hao gives birth in Belgian zoo

Pandas

Panda Hao Hao

A giant panda gave birth to a cub 2:02 a.m. Thursday in a Belgian zoo.

The 7-year-old giant panda, Hao Hao, gave birth to a 171-gram (6.03-ounce) male cub at the Pairi Daiza wildlife park outside Brussels. The zoo staff said the newborn is in good health.

“Less than 2,000 pandas can be found in the wild, making every birth a true miracle,” a statement from the zoo said.

The cub is the first panda born in Belgium. Austria and Spain are the only other European countries where pandas have been born.

The park participates in a breeding program with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, and Hao Hao was artificially inseminated with the semen of a male panda, Xing Hui, in February.

Story by CCTV News