By EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The first giant panda cub born in Indonesia is noisy, nursing well and showing other signs of good health, the zoo where he was born said Sunday.
Indonesian Safari Park released video and photos showing the fuzzy newborn in an incubator and squirming and squealing while being cuddled by his mother.
The mother, 15-year-old Hu Chun, gave birth to Satrio Wiratama — nicknamed Rio — on Nov. 27 at the zoo in Cisarua, West Java province.
The name symbolizes the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species, the zoo said in a statement.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced the baby panda’s name Thursday and showed his photo when he met Wang Huning, a top Chinese political adviser and leading ideologist.
Rio is stable and showing healthy early signs such as strong vocalization, effective nursing and steady weight gain while being monitored constantly. He is expected to develop better temperature control, fur growth, open his eyes and move more in the next several weeks.
The zoo said it was prioritizing the health and welfare of the mother and baby and he would not yet be accessible to the public.
The adult pandas, Cai Tao and Hu Chun, arrived in Indonesia in 2017 on a 10-year conservation partnership with China. They live in an enclosure built for them at the zoo about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Jakarta.
Pandas are widely considered as China’s unofficial mascot and its loans of the animals to overseas zoos have long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy, also known as “panda diplomacy.”
Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are less than 1,900 giant pandas in their only wild habitats in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.