(CNN) The San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy is dedicated to bringing endangered species back from the brink of extinction.
They got a little closer to that goal yesterday when a 20-year-old giant panda gave birth to a cub.
Zookeepers watched via a closed-circuit camera mounted inside the birthing den
The zoo says it’s the sixth giant panda cub born there.
No other breeding facility outside of China has delivered more.
Bai Yun gave birth to all six.
And zookeepers are proud of her.
“It was very exciting, but it was a quiet excitement, because we didn’t want to stress out our new mother,” Jessica Becerra, Sr. Panda Keeper at the zoo, said. “And we heard the baby cry for the first time so it was very exciting to hear and know that everything was OK.”
“She’s the second-oldest mom to ever have give birth to a cub which is also exciting,” Megan Owen, Conservation Program Manager, said. “And or all of us who has worked with her for years, we’re just thrilled that she has, you know, shown us yet again that she’s a fantastic bear.”
Zookeepers won’t know the cub’s gender for about two months.
That’s when they’ll first examine the cub up close.
They say both mom and cub appear to be doing well.
