From 2000 to 2020, the average birth weight of cubs born at our park was 156.8g. While there are rare cases of low birth weight cubs being successfully raised, such as a 51g cub in 2006 and a 42.8g cub in 2019 at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, generally, cubs born weighing less than 100g have a high mortality rate. In August 2018, a cub was born at our park weighing 75g with a body temperature of 31.5℃. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of both Japanese and Chinese staff in caring for the cub (named 'Saihin') and its mother 'Rauhin', we successfully raised it.

Birth Weight List at Adventure World

Saihin's Weight Changes

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

• Right after 'Saihin' was born, her body temperature was a low 31.5℃, and she was too weak to drink her mother's milk on her own. About 9 hours after birth, 'Saihin' stopped crying, so she was taken from her mother and kept warm in an incubator. Her body temperature was 33.4℃, and her breathing and heartbeat were very weak, so we supplied oxygen in the incubator and gave her a cardiac stimulant injection. About an hour after treatment, her breathing and heartbeat stabilized, and her body temperature recovered to 36℃ after three hours. In the initial rearing, we focused on three key points: 'ensuring the cub's milk intake', 'maintaining body temperature', and 'keeping the mother's mental state stable'.

1. Ensuring Milk Intake

To ensure she got enough milk and to keep her body temperature stable, we only returned 'Saihin' to 'Rauhin' for feeding, keeping her in an incubator at other times to stay warm. Right after birth, 'Saihin' couldn't suckle on her own, so the staff fed her expressed mother's milk with a syringe. The staff guided 'Saihin's mouth to 'Rauhin's nipple to encourage self-feeding. We confirmed her first self-feeding at 2 days old, and by 7 days old, she was able to feed entirely on her own. At 6 days old, she surpassed her birth weight at 77g, and although her weight gain was slower than average, it steadily increased after that.

Weight and Milk Intake Changes

2. Maintaining Body Temperature

About 7 hours after birth, we let 'Saihin' stay with 'Rauhin' for an hour, but her body temperature dropped by 2.1℃. So, after that, we kept their time together as short as possible, and she stayed in the incubator for warmth when not feeding. However, we found that the duration of their time together didn't always directly correlate with the temperature drop; it was also affected by how the mother held her cub during their time together. The initial incubator setting was 37.5℃. We gradually lowered it based on the cub's body temperature and breathing rate. Although her body temperature dropped each time she was with her mother, the decrease became smaller around 11 days old. Once her weight exceeded 300g at 18 days old, she could maintain a temperature in the 35℃ range even after about an hour with her mother. After that, we didn't see any major issues, and she continued to grow steadily, just like other cubs.

3. Maintaining the Mother's Stable Mental State

It was also super important to keep mom "Rauhin" calm. Rauhin, who had given birth 6 times between 2008 and 2018, was really attached to her babies. This time, as soon as we brought "Saihin" back, Rauhin would immediately cuddle her, get into a nursing position, and take care of her, like cleaning up her waste. But if we took the baby away, Rauhin would get restless and search for Saihin. To help Rauhin relax, when she wasn't holding Saihin, we moved Saihin to a different room from the birthing room, made the room dark, and kept it quiet. We were a bit worried that keeping Saihin away for a long time might make Rauhin abandon her or produce less milk, but Rauhin did a great job raising her cub!