Baby panda born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, first in 24 years

Shin Shin, the female panda at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, has given birth to baby on Thursday, making it the first to be born at the zoo in 24 years. Shin Shin and her male companion, Ri Ri, have been on loan to the zoo from China since just before the devastating earthquake and tsunami last March. Officials from the zoo say the mother and baby are in good health so far, and they will be further monitored around the clock.

The two adult panda were confirmed to have mated back in late March, and since then Shin Shin has been showing signs of pregnancy, like loss of appetite and sleeping more. She was taken out of public view just last week, on June 30th, as animal keepers were predicting the birth could happen anytime in July. There are no scientific methods to determine when a panda is about to give birth, so they would have no idea the baby was coming until the moment it happens.

The gender of the baby panda hasn’t been revealed yet, but Tokyo’s Governor Shintaro Ishihara has suggested a name that will leave China less than pleased. Ueno Zoo is Japan’s oldest zoo, and this is the first panda to be born through natural breeding. The only three previous panda births were achieved through artificial insemination, and took place before 1989.