Giant panda gives birth

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A giant panda gave birth to a cub at the San Diego Zoo yesterday after 2½ hours in labor.

The cub is the fourth for Bai Yun, who was put on 24-hour watch after officials detected a fetus and fetal heartbeat through ultrasound images July 18. The cub’s sex was not known.

“All we’ve seen so far is a leg and a tail,” said Dr. Ron Swaisgood, co-head of the zoo’s panda program.

Bai Yun showed signs of labor early yesterday, getting restless and frequently shifting position in a private den, Dr. Swaisgood said. When the cub finally came, Bai Yun quickly scooped it up and clutched it to her breast.

The cub hardly cried at all — evidence of its mother’s deftness.

“Usually the mother will bobble the cub or her paw will slip and the cub will cry until it’s repositioned,” Dr. Swaisgood said. “But [Bai Yun] was keeping that cub so content it didn’t cry at all. It made a few squawks and that was it.”

Zookeepers won’t get near the cub for at least a few days. They hope to get a clear view of it on a closed-circuit camera feed, but typically a mother panda will hunch protectively over the cub to obscure it.