Baby panda makes public debut in Malaysia

A female baby panda, born to giant pandas on a 10-year loan to Malaysia from China, has made her first public appearance.

The baby female panda has not yet been named.

The baby female panda has not yet been named. Source: AAP

A baby panda born in a Malaysian zoo five months ago has made her public debut.

The female, which has not yet been named, is the second offspring of giant pandas Liang Liang and Xing Xing, both of which are on a 10-year loan to Malaysia since 2014.

The baby panda born five months ago makes her first media appearance.
The baby panda born five months ago makes her first media appearance. Source: AAP


The first cub, a female called Nuan Nuan born in August 2015, was sent back to China last November as part of a deal with Beijing to return cubs born in captivity at two years of age.

Members of the media watched and filmed the cub in an air-conditioned enclosure at the national zoo through a glass shield.

Zoologists said the healthy cub weighs 9kg and will face the public later on Saturday.

Zoo officials have said the giant panda pair broke the world record for a second baby in four years via natural reproduction.

Malaysia's national zoo has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on a panda complex including bamboo trees mimicking their natural habitat, after China loaned the cub's parents to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations with Malaysia.

Giant pandas Liang Liang, pictured, and Xing Xing were loaned to Malaysia for 10 years by China.
Giant pandas Liang Liang, pictured, and Xing Xing were loaned to Malaysia for 10 years by China. Source: AAP


According to WWF, there are 1,864 giant pandas in the wild, living mainly in bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China and subsisting almost entirely on bamboo.

The pair arrived just weeks after a Malaysian plane carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese citizens, disappeared in March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Chinese media at the time criticised the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines over their handling of the tragedy. The jet still hasn't been found.


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