PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s panda cub Nuan Nuan has a sibling and it’s a world record – thanks to parents Liang Liang and Xing Xing adapting well to the country.
The giant panda pair broke the world record for having a second baby within four years via natural reproduction.
Liang Liang gave birth to the cub weighing 150gm at 7.50am on Sunday, 89 days after mating on Oct 18, 2017.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced the good news yesterday.
“Both mother and cub are fine,” he told a press conference at the Giant Panda Conservation Centre at the National Zoo here.
Dr Wan Junaidi said Malaysia would inform the birth of the giant panda cub to China, besides discussing several matters related to the agreement inked under the Joint Giant Panda Conservation Project.
Malaysia intends to keep the giant panda cub, but the matter must be discussed in detail with China, including the technical and financial factors.
When contacted, Zoology, Veterinary and Giant Panda Conservation Centre director Dr Mat Naim Ramli said: “Two babies within four years’ time is definitely a world record. This happened through natural process.”
“There are multiple factors attributed to this. I would say Xing Xing and Liang Liang are a good pair. They previously had Nuan Nuan, so there is a high potential for them to have more babies,” he said.
The pandas, he said, had also adapted well after arriving in Malaysia.
The good news came after Nuan Nuan, the first Malaysia-born female panda cub, was sent back to China in November last year and only recently made its debut.
“We noticed the hormonal changes in Liang Liang, after she was separated from Nuan Nuan,” he said, adding that Liang Liang was in a fertility period two months after separating from her cub.
Nuan Nuan was born within 15 months of the arrival of Xing Xing and Liang Liang under a 10-year loan programme.
The pair of giant panda came on May 21, 2014, to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.
Dr Mat Naim said: “It is easier to confirm the pregnancy of the panda as staff at the centre are more experienced after Nuan Nuan.
“We were quite confident about her pregnancy in late December. We also wanted to conduct an ultrasound scan, but Liang Liang did not want to obey our instructions.”
He said Liang Liang started to build her nest a week before (on Jan 7) she delivered her cub.
“She had been keeping to herself at a corner. After a week of such behaviour, on Sunday, she gave birth,” he said.
The gender of the cub is still unknown.
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