Panda cub in ‘guarded’ condition at Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta officials said Tuesday that the male giant panda cub born this weekend is in “guarded” condition and was put in an incubator because its mother, Lun Lun, had put it down twice and the cub had lost body heat.

Lun Lun’s move was unusual because giant pandas normally never let go of their offspring in the first few weeks after birth.

Panda cubs can lose body heat reapidly, a serious threat to their health during their early days.

“This is a guarded situation,” Dennis Kelly, chief executive officer and president of Zoo Atlanta, said in a press briefing. “This animal is so small that we are concerned.”

The zoo hopes to reintroduce the newborn to its mother around 1 p.m. today. They hope they have stabilized the cub enough so that Lun Lun will resume mothering.

Zoo officials think part of the pronblem is that Lun Lun may not have been creating enough milk. The milk provides antibodies to fight off infections during the cub’s first few days.

When officials retrieved the cub Monday evening around 6 they noticed it was almost hypothermic and malnourished. They immediately put it on a food program using milk from Lun Lun and wrapped the cub in a blanket and put it in an incubator.

The cub successfully began eating and its temperarture improved. But zoo officials said it is far from out of the woods.

The cub, born Saturday about 10:20 p.m., is the second born at Zoo Atlanta to Lun Lun. Her other offspring is Mei Lan, who turns 2 this Saturday.

Kelly said the so-called panda cam, set up so that visitors could see Lun Lun and her cub, will remain shut down for now.