A video shared on YouTube by BBC Earth shows us a fascinating insight into motherhood for pandas.
When Minmin the panda went into labor, she had a difficult birth that lasted for three days.
It is difficult to know when a panda is about to give birth, so the team at the wildlife reserve where Minmin lived, made sure that she was placed in a safe and secure area so that they could keep an eye on her. After a five month pregnancy, her baby was finally making its way into the world, but the birth was far from a quick one.
The longer the birth goes on for, the more complications that can arise, so when the baby finally arrived, the team immediately took it away to do a full physical. They wanted to make sure that everything was okay before reuniting the two.
Baby pandas are extremely fragile, and can easily get sick and die. In fact, according to China Highlights, 10% of baby pandas in breeding centers don’t make it. It’s still a vast improvement from the 1960s, where 70% don’t survive.
With that being said, doctors wanted to be 100% sure that Minmin’s baby was going to be okay.
Minmin was seven years old at the time of her pregnancy, and as pandas usually reach maturity when they reach 5.5 to 6.5 years, she was certainly ready to be a mum.
But after her newborn had been handled by lots of different people, it was touch and go whether Minmin would decide to take on the role of motherhood or not.
Minmin had not had a chance to bond with her baby before it was taken away, and the newborn would now be covered in lots of scents that Minmin wouldn’t recognize. Was she going to accept her baby?
If Minmin doesn’t recognize her baby, then there’s a high chance that it won’t survive. Panda bears are the smallest newborn mammal, in relation to the size of the mother bear. They weigh only 3 to 5 oz., and are similar in length and width to a stick of butter.
Their tiny size and weak muscles mean that they are highly dependant on their moms for the first few months of their lives.
The moment has arrived for Minmin to meet her baby for the first time. She seems exhausted by the pregnancy and is laying down in the corner having a rest.
As workers bring in the crying newborn, the baby doesn’t seem to come as a welcome surprise to the exhausted mom. The panda cub is placed some distance away from the mom, in the hopes that she will hear its cries and come to soothe it.
It’s going to be a waiting game.
After some time, mom still hasn’t approached her baby, and workers decide to switch things up a bit. They rearrange her pen so it’s more comfortable and move the baby a little closer. We feel like we’re holding our breath as we wait to see how the mom will react.
Finally, the mom begins to show some signs that she recognizes her baby.
At last, the mom begins to show her baby some love.
Watch the video below to see mother and cub at last united!
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