Mainland giant panda delivers second cub in Taipei

Giant panda Yuan Yuan, one of a panda pair from the Chinese mainland, gave birth to her second cub at Taipei Zoo at 1:53pm Sunday, the city zoo said.

The newborn cub sounds healthy, but its gender has not yet been identified as the mother has been shielding it since birth, Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao said, adding that it took Yuan Yuan more than five hours to deliver the cub.

According to the zoo, Yuan Yuan received artificial insemination from Tuan Tuan, the male panda, on Feb. 26 and 27, and over the past few days she has shown signs of pregnancy, such as eating less.

The panda pair, who arrived in Taipei in December 2008, had their first cub, a female, on July 6, 2013.

The zoo will update more details about the cub Monday, Tsao said.