Cao Cao walks around before giving birth. (Photo/Courtesy of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda)
Cao Cao, a female panda bred in captivity who mated with a wild companion, has given birth to a baby, a first for China's panda breeding programs aiming to the help diversify the population’s gene pool. Cao Cao, 15, gave birth to a male cub at the Wolong Hetaoping Wild Training Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, at 2 a.m. on July 31, 2017. It marks the successful completion of CCRCGP's trial of breeding pandas in captivity with those in the wild.
