2010 giant panda birthing season
Giant panda cubs are usually born between July and September every year, so they’re off to a great start this year with the birth of twins at Beijing Zoo on 2 July 2010. The proud parents are Gu Gu (father) and Ying Hua (mother). If Gu Gu’s name looks familiar, it’s because he has been in the news a few times for fighting off unwelcome visitors into his den.
For a long time, there was the mistaken understanding that giant pandas only give birth to single cubs. However, once captive breeding began in giant panda reserves like Wolong and Chengdu, the panda vets and keepers observed an unusually high number of giant panda twins being born. They also saw how one of the twins, usually the weaker one, would be rejected. Again, through observation, they saw why the rejection occurred – giant panda mothers can only care for one cub at a time, and would choose the stronger of the two. As a result, swap rearing was developed, in which the rejected twin would be taken away to be cared for in the nursery, and then swapped every few days with the twin that’s with the mother so that both would get to spend time with her. Then, around three months old, both cubs are presented at the same time to mummy.
And so it was with the twins born to Ying Hua on 2 July 2010 – she rejected the younger cub. But the panda team there was prepared; since Beijing Zoo is not a giant panda reserve and does not have the necessary facilities, the cub was flown to Bifengxia Panda Base where it was found to be female and to weigh 109g. In addition to being cared for in the nursery, she is also being fed frozen colostrum from her grandmother, Ying Ying, during the first three days after birth.
It is just as well that this little one was rejected by mother Ying Hua and taken to Bifengxia Panda Base. Following the wonderful news about the first giant panda cubs born this year, came the sad news that the older cub, the one mother Ying Hua did not reject, failed to survive beyond 20 hours.
The circumstances of the cub’s death are very sad – due to its tiny size, and possibly the mother’s inexperience (she’s a first-time mother), it was crushed to death. According to news reports, she had fallen asleep and when the cub cried, had woken but was confused where the cub was. It was behind her and got crushed when she turned around to look for it.
The news reports also suggest that Ying Hua may have been stressed from the attention focused on the birth of her cubs, hence her confusion. In the wild, a giant panda mother about to give birth would find a hollow tree as the birthing den, but under captive circumstances, there is no such luxury. This is not to suggest captive breeding is bad because overall, captive breeding has increased the survival rates of twin cubs, but unfortunately, incidents such as this sometimes happen.
Both happy and sad news within days of each other. But they only serve to remind us how precious these little lives are.
Here’s the precious younger twin, currently in the nursery at Bifengxia Panda Base:
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Correction
According to fellow Pandas Unlimited member, lovecatbear, this was what happened:
“On July 3 at 4:45 a.m., Ying Hua was sitting in a corner of the room with the cub under her chin when she heard the cub crying again. She turned and her head hit against the wall, accidentally crush the cub. The keepers heard the screaming, but as Ying Hua sat with her back to the surveillance camera, they didn’t know what actually happened. When they saw the cub fall off to the floor at 4:55 a.m., motionless, it’s too late.”
