Zoo rules newborn panda cub a girl

YURI KAGEYAMA

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO — The baby panda who has become an overnight celebrity in Japan is a girl.

Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo said Friday the panda, born June 12, was ruled a female by examining experts.

It’s difficult to determine the gender of a panda newborn. The zoo had also been careful not to separate the baby from her mother, and the two short periods it took her away were not enough to determine the sex.

The still nameless cub has been doing well, drinking mother ShinShin’s milk.

Giant panda cubs gradually get black markings on their ears, eyes and paws, and the spots were starting to show.

The nearly 18-cm panda won’t be in public view for months, probably about half a year, according to the zoo. But the zoo is already drawing crowds in this nation that has an acute weakness for “kawaii,” or cute, things.

And Japanese media have been feeding practically daily reports on the little panda as well as footage of children getting excited at the zoo. The public is being solicited to give her a name, although details are still sketchy.

In 2012, the last cub born at the zoo, also ShinShin’s, survived only six days.

Kansai University professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto estimates Tokyo’s economy will get a $240 million lift from the baby, including panda-related goods, zoo admission fees and other spending over the next year.

The zoo said the mother was also doing well, eating bamboo and drinking water. The zoo will continue to monitor both of them 24 hours, although their conditions appear stable, it said.

The fact the baby has survived more than 10 days is a good sign, although it remains fragile for the first few months, according to experts.

The first panda to be born in captivity in Japan was in 1985, at Ueno Zoo, and it lived only 43 hours.

About 420 giant pandas live in captivity, mostly in their native China, while about 1,860 live in the wild. China for decades has gifted friendly nations with its unofficial national mascot in what is known as “panda diplomacy.” The country more recently has loaned pandas to zoos on commercial terms.

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GETTY IMAGES A baby panda born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo is a girl, the zoo said on Friday, even though the two short periods it took her away from her mother were too short to accurately determine the cub’s gender.