PHOTOS Giant panda born in S. Korea for first time
Mother panda Ai Bao lifts her newborn baby using her mouth in their cage at the Everland zoo in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. The baby panda was born at 9:49 p.m. Monday, becoming the first Chinese giant panda to be delivered in South Korea. Courtesy of Everland
A giant panda cub was born in South Korea for the first time after a natural mating, the country's largest amusement park said Wednesday.
Chinese panda couple Ai Bao and Le Bao are the parents of the female cub born at 9:49 p.m. Monday, according to Everland, a theme park operated by Samsung Group.
The seven-year-old female Ai Bao became pregnant in March after a successful mating with nine-year-old Le Bao, the company said.
This is the first time South Korea has seen the birth of a panda. Everland said Ai Bao and her newborn are in good condition. The baby panda weighed 197 grams at birth and was 16.5 centimeters long, it said.
The baby panda is staying at a special den inside Everland's Panda World and will not be unveiled to the public until it develops an immune system. Theme park officials said they plan to show pictures and videos of the cub regularly on its social media channels.
The baby panda is in a special den at Everland's Panda World. Courtesy of Everland
Giant pandas rarely breed in captivity, so Monday's birth is considered a major event.
A female panda is known to have one estrous cycle a year, usually between March and April. It can only conceive for about one to three days around ovulation.
Ai Bao and Le Bao are the sole panda couple in South Korea. They arrived from China in 2016 after Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to lease the bears for joint research following his visit to Seoul in 2014.
The pandas are considered a symbol of goodwill from Beijing for fostering bilateral relations.
So far, more than 9.5 million people have visited Everland to see the panda couple. (Yonhap)