Giant panda gives birth in NW China

XI'AN - A giant panda gave birth to a female cub earlier this week at a breeding base in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, local forestry authorities said on Friday.

The cub, weighing 156 grams, was born at approximately 3:10 a.m. Monday at the breeding and rescue center for endangered wild animals in Shaanxi, according to the provincial forestry department.

The 17-year-old mother, Zhu Zhu, underwent artificial insemination in March and started to show prenatal behavior in late July.

She is an experienced mother, having given birth to three cubs in 2008, 2009 and 2013.

In June, giant panda Yang Yang delivered a cub and Ai Bang gave birth to two babies at the base.

Since 2003, 16 panda cubs have been born at the base, bringing its number of captive-bred giant pandas to 23.