It's a boy! First baby panda born to captive mother and wild father
By Globaltimes.cn, Published: 2017-08-01 17:59:56
A nurse carefully examines the physical conditions of the baby panda. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Editor's Note:
Cao Cao, a female panda bred in captivity who mated with a wild companion, has given birth to a baby, a first for China’s panda breeding programs aiming to the help diversify the population’s gene pool. Cao Cao, 15, gave birth to a male cub at the Wolong Hetaoping Wild Training Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, at 2 am on July 31, 2017. It marks the successful completion of CCRCGP’s trial of breeding pandas in captivity with those in the wild.

The nurse cuts off the umbilical cord of the baby panda. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
The nurse identifies the baby’s gender as male. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Cao Cao gives birth to her baby at 2 am on July 31, 2017. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
A worker assists in the birth of the baby panda and examines its conditions. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Workers assisting in the birth take the baby panda away for medical examination. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
The Baby is weighed after its birth. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Cao Cao walks around before giving birth. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Cao Cao takes a rest before giving birth. Photo: Courtesy of Li Chuanyou/ China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda