From 2000 to 2020, the average weight of giant panda cubs born at Adventure World Shirahama was 156.8g. Usually, cubs weighing less than 100g have a higher chance of not making it. Although the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base did manage to raise tiny cubs weighing 51g and 42.8g in 2006 and 2019, that's super rare! But guess what? In August 2018, a giant panda cub was born at Adventure World Shirahama weighing only 75g and with a body temperature of just 31.5℃. Thanks to the amazing teamwork from both Chinese and Japanese experts, and lots of devoted care for the cub (who we named Caihin) and her mom, Rauhin, she successfully grew up!

Check out the birth weights of
giant panda cubs born at Adventure World Shirahama!

Changes in Saihin's Weight

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  ※Average: Weight of giant panda cubs born between 2000 and 2020 (n=17)

• When Saihin was born, her body temperature was only 31.5℃, and she was too weak to feed on her mother's milk. About 9 hours after she was born, we couldn't hear Saihin's cries anymore, so we carefully took her from her mother. At that time, Saihin's body temperature was only 33.4℃, and her breathing and heartbeat were very faint. The keepers gently placed her in an incubator, supplied oxygen, and even gave her a cardiotonic injection. After about an hour of intensive care, Saihin's breathing and heartbeat finally stabilized, and her body temperature returned to 36℃ within 3 hours. During her early care, we focused on three main things: making sure she got enough milk, keeping her body temperature stable, and ensuring her mother's mental state remained calm.

1. Ensuring enough milk intake

To make sure Saihin got enough milk and to keep her body temperature stable, we only returned her to her mother, Rauhin, during feeding times. The rest of the time, she stayed warm in an incubator. Since she was too weak to suckle after birth, our staff fed Saihin expressed milk using a syringe. Our staff guided Saihin's mouth to Rauhin's nipple to encourage her to feed on her own. We first saw her suckle independently on day 2, and from day 8 onwards, Rauhin took over all the nursing herself. By day 7, Saihin's weight surpassed her birth weight, reaching 77g. After that, even though her weight gain was a little slower than average, it steadily increased without any problems.

Changes in Weight and Milk Intake

2. Maintaining body temperature

About 7 hours after birth, Saihin's body temperature dropped by 2.1℃ after spending just one hour with her mother, Rauhin. So, after that, we kept the time the mother panda held her cub to a minimum, and Saihin stayed in the incubator for warmth, except during feeding and milk expression. However, we later found that the duration spent with her mother wasn't always directly proportional to the temperature drop; it also depended on how her mother held her. The incubator's temperature was initially set at 37.5℃ and then gradually adjusted downwards based on Saihin's body temperature and breathing rate. Even though Saihin's body temperature would drop each time she was with her mother, the decrease started to get smaller around day 11. By day 18, after her weight exceeded 300g, her body temperature could stay above 35℃ even after spending about 60 minutes with her mother. After that, there were no major issues, and she grew up strong, just like other giant panda cubs.

3. Keeping the mother panda's mental state stable

It was also super important to keep mother Rauhin calm and stable. Rauhin started having cubs in 2008, and Saihin's birth in 2018 was her sixth time! She's incredibly devoted to her babies. This time, as soon as we returned Saihin to her, Rauhin immediately held her cub and took great care of her, nursing her and cleaning up after her. On the other hand, whenever we took Saihin away, Rauhin would get really anxious and start looking for her baby everywhere. To help Rauhin calm down, while Saihin was away, we'd move Rauhin from the birthing room to another room, dim the lights, and keep things quiet. Even though we worried that being away from Saihin for too long might make Rauhin abandon her cub or produce less milk, Rauhin did an amazing job raising her baby!