CHENGDU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- A newborn panda has received stitches for a scratch believed to have been made by her mother, a giant panda breeding base in southwest China's Sichuan Province said Wednesday.
Giant panda Yuan Run gave birth to a female cub at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the capital of Sichuan.
The cub, named Run Jiu and weighing 151.8 grams, was Yuan Run's firstborn. The mother panda panicked when she first saw her cub, according to the staff at the base.
Breeders later found a long scratch stretching from the cub's mouth to her neck. They said that the scratch might have been made by the mother panda when she tried to pick up the cub.
The base has provided treatment for the cub which included nine stitches for the scratch.
Base staff are taking care of and feeding the cub as the mother panda has no lactation experience.
They have begun monitoring the cub around-the-clock to ensure its health. Its physical signs are normal at this stage, according to the base.
