Giant panda loaned from China gives birth in Malaysia zoo

The first panda born on Malaysian soil could not have picked a better date of birth. Liang Liang, a giant panda from China, gave birth to a cub in Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Aug. 18, 2015.

Her cub, Gong Gong, remains in China. “The cub doesn’t look like a panda, but it’s still cute”, he wrote. Liang Liang, meanwhile, will be fed young bamboo shoots, glucose and salt water to regain her strength after giving birth yesterday. “The offspring of Liang Liang and Xing Xing, the Zoo Negara pandas”.

As such, he said visitors would only be able to see the male giant panda, Xing Xing, when visiting the GPCC for the time being. “Two months is only an estimation; that’s around when the mother is ready to leave the cub alone”, said Rahmat.

The director of the Malaysian Zoological Society Giant Panda Conservation Center and veterinary services, Dr. Mat Naim Ramli, told reporters there that most pandas in captivity have taken about eight or nine years to reproduce, and often require artificial insemination.

The giant pandas arrived from Chengdu, China, on May 21 last year, and will be in Malaysia on loan for 10 years to symbolise the 40th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations.

If you have been living under a rock, Malaysia’s infamous panda pair Liang Liang and Xing Xing, residents of Zoo Negara, have recently become parents to a female panda cub.