The newborn weighs 186 grams. It is the second baby panda that Yuan Yuan has given birth to since arriving at the Taipei Zoo in 2008.
A giant panda, donated by China to Taiwan, has given birth to a second female, the Taipei Zoo announced on Monday.
Yuan Yuan and his partner Tuan Tuan, whose names mean “meeting” or “unity” in Chinese, had been offered by China to Taiwan in 2008 to symbolize the improvement in relations between the two countries.
A 186-gram newborn
The newborn, conceived by artificial insemination, does not yet have a name, said the zoo. He weighs 186 grams and the delivery lasted five hours.
“We were hoping her mom could take care of it.” But Yuan Yuan was surely very tired by this delivery … so, after evaluation, we decided to take his baby away from him “so that he could be fed by the trainers, the zoo said in a press release.
The baby panda is in stable condition after being treated for a slight back injury.
Offspring allowed to stay in Taiwan
In 2013, Yuan Yuan gave birth to Yuan Zai, a female. She was the first giant panda born in Taiwan. Generally, Beijing lends its pandas and all offspring must be sent to China.
In a rare sprain for this use, Taiwan was allowed to keep Yuan Zai because his parents were offered, according to Taipei authorities. The couple’s arrival in 2008 had sparked a veritable “panda mania” across the island, especially after the birth of Yuan Zai.
Diplomatic pressure between the two countries
The island and the mainland have been governed separately since 1949, but the Communist regime asserted its sovereignty over Taiwan.
Since the election in 2016 of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, China has excluded any offer to negotiate with Taiwan and intensified pressure against an island which it still sees as a rebel province called to return to the fold of the mother. homeland, by force if necessary.
Fewer than 1600 pandas are still living in freedom, mainly in the Chinese province of Sichuan, and 300 are in captivity in the world.
