Russia’s first-ever newborn panda cub is a girl

In August, the Moscow Zoo in Russia saw the birth of its first-ever giant panda cub.

The female cub was born to a young pair of giant pandas, Ruyi and Dingding, who arrived in the Russian capital of Moscow in 2019 from China’s southwestern province of Sichuan.

Moscow Zoo’s employees and specialists from China are watching over mother Dingding and her baby.

A zookeeper examines the giant panda cub in an incubator. Photo: Moscow Zoo via Reuters

At the start, Dingding always hid her baby to protect it and slept very little to stay alert. Now, she feels calmer and more rested as the baby is quickly growing fur, which helps the cub with thermoregulation.

The cub is being inspected by experts in a special incubator, where the temperature and humidity are comfortable for the baby. The incubator has everything necessary for the cub including diapers, blankets and pillows with cassia seeds.

The baby girl currently weighs 1,288 grams and is 36.8cm tall. Specialists from China have confirmed that the cub is developing well.

Quiz time

1. Who are the cub’s parents?

2. Where does this baby panda live?

3. Why was Dingding getting very little sleep?

4. What is the purpose of the incubator?

5. How heavy is the baby panda?