Southwest China's Sichuan Province has had its first giant panda cub born this year, a spokesperson with the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong told Xinhua Friday.

The male cub was born at around 10:00 AM Thursday with a weight of 159.5 grams and a length of 14.8 cm at the center's Bifengxia base in Ya'an reserve, south of Wolong.

After 24 hours of observation, both the mother and the cub were in good health.

The cub's mother, named Zhuyun, mated with a male named Lingling in March and began to show signs of giving birth to the young in mid June.

It is Zhuyun's second cub. Her first cub, Minmin, is among the 10 giant pandas sent to Shanghai during the 2010 World Expo.

Both Zhuyun and Lingling belong to the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.

Giant pandas are among the world's most endangered species. According to the State Forestry Administration, about 1,590 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, and more than 210 live in captivity.

The 200,000-hectare Wolong Nature Reserve, founded in 1963, is home to the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, which was damaged in the massive earthquake of May 2008 and almost all of the 150-plus pandas under its custody were sent to the Ya'an reserve. The Wolong center is being rebuilt.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2010)