Lun Lun the Panda is Expecting Her Fourth Cub

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GRANT PARK — Lun Lun, a 15-year-old giant panda, is expecting her fourth cub. Based on the size of the fetus observed in an ultrasound conducted June 30, the Animal Management and Veterinary teams estimate that a birth could take place in two to three weeks.

The cub would be the first U.S.-born giant panda this year 2013.

The fetus is now 1.08 centimeters long, which is consistent with a delivery date approximately two weeks from now.  

“We’re thrilled about the possibility of a fourth cub for Lun Lun, but we remain cautiously optimistic at this point. Giant panda cubs are extremely fragile, and the chance remains that the fetus does not go to term,” Raymond B. King, Zoo Atlanta's president and chief executive said in a statement.

“A birth would be another success for our giant panda program, and we share our optimism with our fellow U.S. zoos housing this iconic species and with our colleagues at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.”

Lun Lun was artificially inseminated in March 2013 with the assistance of Dr. Copper Aitken-Palmer, an expert in giant panda reproductive physiology from Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute.

Lun Lun and 15-year-old male Yang Yang have three previous offspring:

• male Mei Lan, 6 and now a resident of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
• male Xi Lan, 4
• male Po, 2