San Diego panda delivers fourth cub

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Giant panda Bai Yun has given birth to her fourth cub, enhancing the San Diego Zoo's reputation as a successful breeder of the rare beasts.

Everything went as expected when Bai Yun gave birth Friday to a white and hairless cub about the size of a banana, said zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo. The cub's father is the zoo panda patriarch Gao Gao.

Zookeepers won't be able to examine the cub until the mother feels comfortable leaving the den, which could be another couple of weeks, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday. The cub's gender is not yet known.

Only 1,600 pandas exist worldwide and the San Diego Zoo has developed a reputation for successful breeding.

"Through a decade of improved science and husbandry, we and others are now able to routinely coax these rare and beautiful animals to do what comes naturally, resulting in a healthier population," said zoo spokesman Ron Swaisgood.

The only other U.S. zoos to successfully breed pandas are the Atlanta Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.