American-born panda Hua Mei gave birth to her eighth cub Friday in southwest China's Sichuan Province, panda experts said.

The cub, born at 3:00 AM Friday, was male and weighed 161.6 grams at birth, the Wolong China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center said in a press release.

It said the cub was nursed by Hua Mei, now the heroic mother of eight cubs, including three sets of twins.

The Wolong center is yet to name the cub.

Hua Mei, whose name means "China-America," was born at the San Diego Zoo in the United States in Aug. 1999. She returned to China in March 2004 and has since lived at the Wolong center.

All her cubs were born after Hua Mei returned to her ancestral homeland.

Altogether 16 pandas have been born at the Wolong center so far this year, the same as last year's total.

Panda experts at the center said this year's total number of newborn pandas is certain to surpass last year's figure because more cubs are expected to be born before the year's end.

Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species. About 1,600 live in the wild and over 300 are bred in captivity at zoos.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2010)