Baby giant panda born at San Diego Zoo

<p>A 13-year-old giant panda gave birth to a cub at San Diego Zoo, but a second baby died in the womb, officials said Wednesday.</p><p>Bai Yun gave birth shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday after being in labor for three hours. The birth _ the second in less than a month at a U.S. zoo _ was captured on a closed-circuit camera in the Giant Panda Research Station birthing den.</p><p>Zoo officials said the baby weighed in at 4 ounces, the size of a stick of butter. The gender will not be known for some time because zoo officials don't want to disrupt mother and child.</p><p>"The birth of a giant panda cub is definitely something to celebrate," said Yadira Galindo, the zoo's spokeswoman.</p><p>Two fetuses were detected last month during a routine check. However, on Monday the zoo's veterinary staff said one of the fetuses died in the womb.</p><p>The panda joins a cub born July 9 at the National Zoo in Washington. Zoo officials announced Tuesday that they had finally been able to examine the little creature while the panda's mother, 6-year-old Mei Xiang, left the den to eat, and determined it is a male.</p><p>There are only about 1,600 giant pandas in captivity and in the wild, zoo officials said.</p><p>San Diego researchers have been monitoring Bai Yun since April when she mated with male panda Gao Gao.</p><p>Another panda may arrive soon. Zoo Atlanta 7-year-old giant panda, Lun Lun, is showing symptoms of a pregnancy, officials said last month. Zoo officials had said in March that Lun Lun was artificially inseminated.</p><p>Gestation in giant pandas has been estimated between 97 and 163 days, making it difficult to predict a birth date accurately.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1d0b800)</p>

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