Er Shun, the Zoo’s female giant panda, gave birth to her first cub at 3:31 a.m. and the second cub was born at 3:44 a.m.
In a media statement from the Toronto Zoo: “Er Shun is demonstrating excellent maternal instincts and began cleaning and cradling the first cub soon after its birth. Immediately following the birth of the second cub, Toronto Zoo staff from the Wildlife Health Centre, Wildlife Care and two giant panda experts from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, retrieved the cub to initiate the Toronto Zoo’s Giant Panda Twin Hand-Rearing Protocol. The cub was then placed in an incubator in the maternity area of the giant panda house, and approximately two hours after its birth the second cub was twin-swapped so it could begin the bonding process with Er Shun. The first cub weighed 187.7 grams at birth and the second cub weighed 115 grams. While this is wonderful news, the tiny cubs are very vulnerable at this size, so the next several hours and days will be critical to their survival.”
At this time Zoo staff do not know the sex of the cubs and have not confirmed which panda is the father. It may be several months before we are able to determine the sex and paternity of the cubs.
“We are so proud to be contributing to the ongoing survival of this endangered species. The Toronto Zoo has been a leader through its unique and successful reproductive programs and these historical births are a testament to the commitment and passion of theprofessionalstaff who work tirelessly every day to ensure the ongoing survival of so many species,” said John Tracogna, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Zoo.
“On behalf of the Toronto Zoo Board of Management we are proud of all staff at the Zoo who have helped bring this vision to a reality,” said Councillor Raymond Cho, Chair. “Our researchers, veterinarians, and wildlife care staff are some of the best in the world, and we are grateful to the People’s Republic of China for entrusting these endangered animals to us. We look forward to sharing our learnings with scientists around the world in the hope this will help us save this endangered species,” he added.
Giant panda cubs are born blind and weigh only 0.08 to 0.2 kilograms, and are about the size of a stick of butter. They are pink in colour, with short sparse white hair, and are 1/900th the size of their mother, one of the smallest newborn mammals relative to its mother’s size.
The Toronto Zoo has been working with many key partners who have played such important roles in this conservation success story and we are grateful for their continued support.
Currently on loan as part of a long-term conservation breeding program, both giant pandas are at the Toronto Zoo until 2018. The giant pandas will relocate to the Calgary Zoo in 2018.
