The Giant Panda National Park is one of China’s first national parks, integrating 73 protected natural areas across Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Currently, the total number of wild giant pandas in China has recovered from 1,100 in the 1980s to about 1,900 today. While the wild panda population is recovering, new progress has also been made in the captive breeding of giant pandas. At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, we met this year’s newborn panda cubs. How do these little angels grow up? What life miracles occur during their development?
2025 Newborn Panda Cubs
First Appearance of the “Little Trio”
At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, three giant panda cubs born this year made their first appearance to a global audience.
“Moon and Stars” is the name of the panda nursery. From the literal meaning, you can tell how much the panda keepers and research team adore the pandas.
These “little trio” love to play by squishing each other. Many people may not have seen a panda’s tail. When a panda is born very small, its tail appears long and somewhat transparent. But as it slowly grows, the tail widens a bit, so it ends up looking like a little broom.
Do Panda Cubs Change Their Look?
Sometimes They Wear “Gray Pants”
The third panda cub appears smaller at first glance. Its fur color looks lighter, even a bit grayish. Compared to other panda cubs, it seems to be wearing a gray coat.
We have a panda named Chengji, and basically every one of her cubs has gone through a “costume change”: starting from one month old, the panda’s fur is relatively light, and by two or three months, it turns black. This is indeed a strange phenomenon, so we call it the “gray gene.” Just like humans, pandas have family traits in different lineages.
Do Pandas Have a “Sound Pack”?
Special Calls of Panda Cubs
Through long-term observation by experts and research teams, it has been found that, within known ranges, giant pandas have over twenty types of calls.
That kind of “mm-mm” sound is to remind mom, like, “Hurry up, I’m tired,” or “I need a hug.”
Do Panda Cubs Snore?
