Overview
- Veterinarians confirmed the cub is healthy and being prepared for a public debut later this month at Taman Safari near Jakarta.
- At 169 days old, Rio weighs about 10 kilograms and can walk on his own, climb on his mother, and nibble bamboo shoots.
- Staff plan a gradual introduction to visitors after checks showed his hearing, sight, and other senses are active.
- The male was born on Nov. 27 through artificial insemination to Hu Chun and Cai Tao, pandas loaned from China under a 10-year partnership that began in 2017.
- The birth provides new genetic data for researchers and is notable because giant pandas are hard to breed and fewer than 1,900 remain in the wild.