October 02, 2021, 03:23 PM
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Like a flower blooming before our very eyes, Singapore's first and only panda cub has been growing well, and really quickly too.
The panda cub's milestones, so far
The conception of the baby panda was kept tightly under wraps until its birth, which was announced on Aug. 14, 2021.
Without its distinct white and black markings, the freshly born panda cub was merely a wee pink blob and barely resembled a panda.
Four-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Four-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
However, it did not take long for the baby panda to grow into its own skin (or fur, to be more specific).
At the ten-day mark, the panda cub appeared a little fuzzier, with some white fur sprouting.
The baby panda's marking was also starting to appear, and some dark colouration could be see around its hind legs, back, eyes, and ears.
10-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Under the watchful eye of its "super mom" Jia Jia, the panda cub thrived, and its black-and-white markings only became more evident over time.
The lead panda caregiver, Trisha Tay, said that the panda cub even developed a "fat belly".
Besides a few close shaves, where a bamboozled Jia Jia had cluelessly covered her young cub in bamboo leaves and nearly sat on her baby unknowingly, mommy panda Jia Jia has been "doing a really good job" as a first time mother.
Video from Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Fully embracing motherhood, mommy panda Jia Jia was often seen nurturing and caring for her young cub, cradling and cuddling her young cub, and was never far from the baby.
23-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
24-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore revealed on Sep. 10, that the panda cub was a male.
The baby panda's gender was confirmed by both the panda caretakers and experts from China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda.
26-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
On Sep. 15, the panda cub had its first-ever weigh-in while Jia Jia was engrossed with her breakfast in her maternity ward.
At day 33, the not-so-little panda cub clocked in a weight of 1.504kg, surpassing its estimated weight of around 200g at birth by seven times.
33-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
33-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Tan Chuan-Jin/Facebook.
On Sep. 24, the panda cub weighed in at 1.87kg, after a gain of some 370g since its first weigh-in.
This was also the same day that the 40-day-old baby panda opened its eyes to see the world for its very first time.
In case you missed it, here's a video of the endearing moment:
Now nearly two months old, the panda cub has seemingly doubled in size, as seen in a Facebook post by Tan Chuan Jin, Speaker of the Parliament and Deputy Chairman of Mandai Park Holdings.Once smaller than mommy panda Jia Jia's head, the young panda has "grown so very fast".
At its most recent weigh in, the 50-day-old panda cub has since put on another 0.768kg and now weighs 2.638kg.
50-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Tan Chuan-Jin/Facebook.
50-day-old panda cub. Image courtesy of Tan Chuan-Jin/Facebook.
At 50-day-old, the panda cub is halfway to its 100-day mark, which will fall on Nov. 21. The panda is expected to be named by then.
A call for members of the public to suggest names for the panda cub has closed, but you can vote for the panda cub's name once the names have been shortlisted and released.
The panda cub will take the name with the most number of votes.
For more details, you can click here.
More panda baby content:
Top image from Tan Chuan Jin/Facebook
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