South Korea Welcomes Its Fourth Baby Panda! 🐼

With a tearful goodbye comes a cheerful hello, as news of a newborn panda has delighted the nation. Everland, South Korea's largest theme park where the pandas are residing, announced on the 10th that a baby panda was born. The newborn panda was born to mother Aebao and father Lobao on June 3. Korea's only mating pair of pandas loaned from China. The birth now marks the third successful natural reproduction of pandas in Korea, Natural breeding is notoriously difficult for giant pandas because the female's fertile period lasts only a short time each year, making the speed even more impressive. An official from Everland said that the mother panda Aebao is drawing on her previous parenting experience to care for her newborn with confidence and warmth. The official added that panda world zookeepers and veterinarians, along with a specialist panda keeper, dispatch from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, are working closely to support Aebao's post-natal recovery and the cub's care. The news is even more welcome, coming just a week after the announcement that the twin pandas are expected to return to China this winter. Considered national treasures in China, giant pandas are loaned to other countries as part of the country's panda diplomacy. All pandas, including those born overseas, therefore must be managed by the country and are generally required to return to China before reaching breeding age. As a result, South Korea tearfully bid farewell to Fubao in 2024, and the nation is now preparing for another difficult goodbye when Ruibao and Huibao return to China this winter. Weighing just 171 grams at birth, the newborn cub is reported to be in good health. Like her older sisters, the baby panda is expected to be revealed to the public after five to six months of growth. Until then, the cub will remain under the watchful eye of its mother and avalanche zookeepers.