Giant panda cub dies 5 days after birth

CHENGDU -- A giant panda cub died on Tuesday morning, five days after it was born at a breeding center in southwest China's Chengdu, the center confirmed with Xinhua on Wednesday.

The cub died at 5 am on Tuesday when it suddenly screamed and fell from its mother, who had just breastfed it. The cub was immediately taken out and found to be not breathing.

A veterinarian confirmed its death and an autopsy later showed no abnormality in its organs.

The cub was born to nine-year-old female Aibang on Friday, making it the first panda born this year, and it was cared for by its own mother from then on.

Staff at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding had been monitoring the cub around the clock and said there had been nothing wrong with its temperature, feces and diet in the first four days after its birth.

The panda cub grew from 145 to 172 grams during this period.

The breeding center said the sudden death is very rare among pandas reared in captivity and bears some similarities with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) among humans.

The cub's organs have been sent to a lab for further analysis and staff at the breeding center are comforting the mother.