CNN has reported that a giant panda at the San Diego Zoo gave birth to a cub the size of a stick of butter on Wednesday, her fifth cub born in the zoo since 1999.
The public can view live video of the cub and its mother, Bai Yun, on the zoo's Web site.
The sex of the mostly hairless, pink newborn, which was born around 5 a.m., is not known yet, said Dr. Ron Swaisgood of the zoo's Institute of Conservation Research.
It will take about one month for the iconic black-and-white coloration of the giant panda to become visible(?), Swaisgood said.
Its mother, Bai Yun, will care for the newborn by herself until she starts leaving the den regularly, at which time members of the zoo's giant panda team will step in briefly to check on the cub, he said.
"She is a very experienced mother. She raised all of her other cubs until about 1.5 years, the natural age for separation," Swaisgood told CNN Radio. "She's a real pro."
Weighing in around 300 pounds, Bai Yun is about 1,000 times the size of her cub, who weighs around 4 ounces., the typical size of a baby panda, Swaisgood said.
"Pandas give birth to what's called very 'altricial' cubs. That means they are very small and fragile. This cub would probably weigh about 4 ounces. It would be pink and hairless and completely dependent on the mother," he said.
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