Zoo Atlanta panda cub on the mend

ATLANTA, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A panda cub at Zoo Atlanta is gaining weight and showing other signs of improved health after an illness following its birth, zoo officials say.

Dwight Lawson, the zoo's senior vice president, said Wednesday while the newborn cub suffered declining health immediately after its birth last week, it has since taken a positive turn and is gaining weight at a healthy rate, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

"The cub started Day 4 at a panda-typical 128 grams, adding an impressive 7 percent to his body weight since yesterday but still small and fragile enough for it to take a few more days and weeks before we can relax," Lawson said.

Officials at the Atlanta tourism site has been temporarily taking the cub away from its mother, Lun Lun, for periodic checkups and Lawson said he is thrilled at how the adult panda is dealing with such intrusions.

"Lun Lun is demonstrating excellent maternal behavior," he told the Journal-Constitution. "Our intention is to increase the time between these exams as our confidence grows in the cub's progress."

The newspaper said the cub's birth Saturday marked the second for Lun Lun, who had a daughter in 2006.