First panda cub born at Moscow Zoo

Moscow, Aug 30 (EFE).- A panda cub, extremely difficult to reproduce in captivity, became the first animal of this species to be born at the Moscow Zoo, the mayor of the Russian capital announced Wednesday.

“This is a unique and very rare event, and it is the result of the coordinated work of our specialists and their Chinese colleagues,” Sergey Sobyanin wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to the Moscow Administration, the cub weighed 150 grams at birth and it is still unknown whether it is male or female.

The six-year-old female bear, named Dindin, delivered to the Moscow Zoo in 2019 by the Chinese government along with the seven-year-old male Zhui, immediately accepted the newborn, and is observed by specialists.

Panda bears are considered ready to procreate between eight and ten years of age, so after learning of the bear’s pregnancy, a specialist from China’s Panda Conservation Research Center traveled to Moscow, where for three months he advised his Russian colleagues.

“Handing over these animals to another country is a sign of great trust. Zhui and Dindin arrived in Moscow in 2019, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our states,” the Moscow mayor added.

At the opening ceremony of the pavilion “Fauna of China”, which houses these plantagers, the presidents of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, were present and approved the start of scientific research of these animals.

The Moscow Zoo prepared thoroughly for the arrival of these bears by preparing an enclosure with an area of more than 800 square meters and sending several employees to a panda center in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, to learn how to care for these creatures.

Thanks to China’s efforts, the panda population, which was on the verge of extinction, now numbers 2,600, of which 1,900 live in the wild. EFE

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