Giant panda cub born for the first time in Russia

The first giant panda cub in Russian history was born at the Moscow Zoo.

“The baby, weighing about 150 grams, was born to a young pair of giant pandas - male Ruyi and female Dingding. The gender of the cub is still unknown. Our Dindin showed great care and immediately accepted the baby. The female is monitored around the clock and all the necessary tests are taken,” the Moscow Zoo reported on its Telegram channel.

The new parents were previously given to the capital's zoo as part of an international program for the conservation, protection and research of giant pandas. The mission of the zoo is to make a significant contribution to the creation of a reserve population of these rare animals.

The Moscow Zoo called the birth of the first giant panda cub in Russia “a unique event both for the country and for the entire global conservation community.” The baby was born after mating naturally.

“To help colleagues, an expert on breeding giant pandas from the Research Center for the Conservation of Giant Pandas of China arrived in Moscow for three months. The specialists did not rush the animals, strictly followed the instructions of their Chinese colleagues, achieved ideal living conditions, and as a result, the female became pregnant the first time,” the report notes.

The zoo emphasized that this case is also unique because Ruyi and Dinding are young parents, they are seven and six years old, respectively. Usually the first cub is born when the mother panda and father panda reach 8-10 years of age.

  “Getting panda offspring is incredibly difficult. The birth of cubs is both a great success and the result of long and painstaking work of specialists,” noted the capital’s zoo.

Giant pandas Ruyi and Dingding arrived in Moscow on April 29, 2019 on a special flight from Beijing. The opening ceremony of the Fauna of China pavilion at the Moscow Zoo was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping. The heads of state decided to conduct a joint study of these rare animals in honor of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries.