For the first time in 24 years, giant pandas are successfully bred in captivity

Jul 5, 2012 12:42 GMT  ·  By

Just recently, the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo welcomed its latest member: a baby giant panda, born here as a result of a captivity breeding program.

As zoo employees explains, the baby panda's mother started to grow restless on Saturday, and this indicated that it was high time to put her in isolation and get ready for the big event.

What is even more interesting is that both the cub and its parents, Shin Shin and Ri Ri, are expected to help build up the friendship between Japan and China, seeing how the Tokyo Metropolitan government leased the two panda bears that now successfully mated from a Chinese zoo.

One of China's high officials explained that, “The giant pandas are messengers of friendship. We hope that people-to-people sentiment and overall relations between China and Japan can be promoted because of the birth of the cub.”