The first giant panda cub born in Indonesia, has reached the important 40-day milestone on Tuesday in good health, marking a substantive achievement in panda conservation cooperation between China and Indonesia.
The panda cub was born on Nov 27 at the Taman Safari Indonesia (TSI) in Bogor of West Java province, to female panda Hu Chun, one of the two giant pandas sent to Indonesia in 2017 under a 10-year conservation cooperation program with China.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto officially named the newborn Satrio Wiratama, which means a brave and honorable knight with noble character, expressing hopes for resilience and strong cooperation between Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species, with the cub later taking on the shorter nickname of 'Rio'.
The 40-day milestone is seen as a key marker of a newborn panda cub's health, as it is around this point it begins to open its eyes and sees fur growth.
At a press conference at TSI's Panda Palace on Tuesday, Indonesian government officials and zoo staff reported that Rio has shown steady weight gain, increasing responsiveness, and promising growth so far.
Currently, the young cub remains under strict care, with plans for public viewing and related educational programs set to be unveiled further down the line.
Rio's parents, Cai Tao and Hu Chun, arrived from southwest China's Sichuan Province more than eight years ago and have been hugely popular attractions for visitors, who say they are now looking forward to seeing the newborn.
"We come here twice a year. So we also know the growth of these pandas also. And then seeing this baby born is really happy for us," said a tourist.
According to the TSI, the expanded panda family will attract even more visitors and boost sales of related merchandise at the zoo, which attracts more than 5 million visitors annually.
With fewer than 2,000 pandas remaining in the wild and only about 300 in captivity worldwide, every successful birth of panda marks a major victory for conservation efforts. Breeding pandas in captivity remains a formidable challenge and female pandas ovulate only once a year and are fertile for just 24 to 72 hours.
First panda born in Indonesia in good health 40 days after birth
