Is there any animal that the world loves more than pandas? They are huge, cuddly, the embodiment of Yin and Yang, and one of the famous ones knows kung-fu! It’s no surprise that whenever a baby panda is born, the world knows about it.
Panda births in captivity are quite a rare thing.
The sad reality is that pandas are severely endangered animals. In the wild, about 1,600 pandas are roaming free. In captivity, that number sits at around 300. For one of the most beautiful animals in the world, having a total population of less than 2,000 is a scary thing.
To make matters worse, captive pandas don’t like to “get it on” all that much!
Most animals love to love while in zoos. They have food, shelter, and everything they could ever ask for (especially the free time). Pandas, however, are tough lovers.
First, female pandas only ovulate once a year, Kaleigh Rogers writes for Vice Motherboard. Not only that, but the window that a male panda has to inseminate the female while she has an egg ready to go is only about 36 to 40 hours. If they miss that mark, the zookeepers have to monitor the potential mom until the next spring before she can attempt to have a baby. – Smithsonian Mag
On top of that, they are usually solitary animals that don’t really feel in the mood all that often!
Despite all the difficulties, there is hope on the horizon.
Through artificial insemination (and the occasional hook-up), pandas are still being bred in captivity. The resulting cubs are as cute, as you can imagine, and they are the future of the species!
In China, one mama panda gave birth to a little cub and got to meet her for the first time.
The resulting video garnered nearly 10 million views and is quite touching. To add another layer of emotion to the event, this was the first time the mom (Yuan Yuan) had seen her baby since she was born! When she was originally born, Yuan Yuan was a bit too rough with her affectionate licking and hurt the cub a bit.
The keepers wanted to make sure nothing else happened to the panda cub, so they popped her in an incubator until her mom was ready to see her again!
Because of a panda’s size and strength, they can often squish or harm their babies accidentally.
Since this little cub is so important to the species, the keepers decided to take the extra precaution. When Yuan Yuan finally got to meet her, however, it was simply beautiful.
Yuan Yuan was EXTREMELY vocal and was so excited to see her little cub through the cage.
The baby let out her own little noises as she heard her mom through the bars and did her best to let her know that she was there! The touching moment was recorded, and before you think of the separation as sad, remember that this is to help them out! Even more, they two would soon be together again, this time, it would be for good.
Check out the sweet reunion in the video below!
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