A 25-day-old newborn panda cub at Chimelong Safari Park in south China's Guangzhou was returned to her mother's embrace on Saturday after undergoing its fifth physical examination.
Mengbao, born to Mengmeng who is one of the only giant panda triplets in the world, takes a physical checkup every five days and has apparently changed in the past days. Its originally pink skin has faded, and is gradually developing into the classic black and white panda coloring, as observed during the latest health check before it was reunited with her mother. Mengbao now weighs 940.6 grams, more than doubling its weight in just 10 days.
Throughout the physical checkup, Mengbao slept peacefully and occasionally had hypnic jerks, unconscious muscle twitches commonly seen during sleep.
"Once in a while the panda cub would twitch or jerk a little bit, as she is growing, and growing rapidly. Sometimes she would even let out a sound of 'Ah' in sleep, suggesting her brain is developing quickly, just as we may jerk, twitch, or cry in our dream. This is quite normal for panda babies," said Chen Shuqing, Mengbao's keeper.
After confirming the panda cub is in good health and well developed, Mengbao was returned to her mother Mengmeng. But keepers will still monitor the cub closely.
"We attend them around the clock and would intervene promptly upon spotting any unsafe behavior. For instance, suppose Mengmeng hugs the baby and falls asleep, it is possible she could roll over suddenly and accidentally press the baby underneath her. In that case, we must intervene promptly to get her up, lest the little baby is choked," said Chen.
Baby panda reunited with mother at Guangzhou zoo
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts to guide China-Russia relations to a new height in 2025 so that the stability and resilience of their bilateral relationship can better cope with the uncertainties of a challenging global environment, when talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin via video link on Tuesday.
Xi expressed his pleasure at meeting with Putin ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 29 this year, describing it as a time for reflection and planning.
"At the turn of the year, it is a moment to review achievements and chart new plans," he said.
Xi noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victories of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN).
"China and Russia should take the opportunities presented by the anniversaries to jointly safeguard the U.N.-centered international system, and the hard-won fruits of victory in World War II. Both countries, as founding members of the UN and permanent members of the Security Council, must uphold their institutional rights," he said.
"In the new year, I'm willing to work with you to continue guiding China-Russia relations to a new height in 2025, to respond to external uncertainties with the stability and resilience of China-Russia ties, to boost the development and prosperity of both countries, and to uphold international fairness and justice," Xi said.
Putin said he agrees with Xi's views, saying that Russia-China cooperation is built on a broad commonality of national interests.
"Our perspectives on how to properly handle relations between major powers are increasingly aligned. Our bilateral relationship is built on friendship, mutual trust, support, equality and mutual benefit. It is independent and unaffected by domestic political factors and the current international situation," he said.
Xi calls for strengthening China-Russia ties to address global uncertainties