Korea’s first panda cub born at Everland

A giant panda has been born in Korea for the first time, according to Everland, a theme park under Samsung C&T, Wednesday.

The female cub was born to Ai Bao and Le Bao at 9:49 p.m. on Monday. Ai Bao was in labor for an hour and a half. The baby panda born after a four-month gestation period weighs 197 grams and is 16.5 centimeters tall.

According to Everland, both the mother and baby are in good health. The young panda will stay at a separate den at Panda World at the amusement park. The newborn will likely be presented to the public after five or six months.

Ai Bao and Le Bao are the only panda couple in Korea. The two pandas have been kept at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, since their arrival from China in 2016. They were sent to Korea as a symbol of the bilateral ties between Korea and China for joint research purposes.

More than 9.5 million people have seen the pandas at Everland.

“We are happy to see Ai Bao and Le Bao become parents after four years,” said zookeeper Kang Cheol-won, who is in charge of panda care at Everland. “We hope that the public can be energized by the birth of a new life.”

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)