Abstract: The average weight for neonatal giant panda cubs in captivity is approximately 142.6 ± 39.4 g. Occasionally
there are some that have a body weight lower than 70 g. These smaller neonates have a high mortality rate. In 2006, a female panda at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding,gave birth to twins. One of the neonatal cubs had an extremely low birth weight of 51 g. This cub was weak,had a low body temperature of 33.4 ℃, and was unable to nurse. We successfully reared the cub by maintaining his normal temperature in an incubator, and providing him with the appropriate amount of colostrum. When the cub gained enough body weight and strength to nurse,he was switched out with his sibling on the mother. The neonate in this study is the smallest giant panda born in captivity that survived. This article will compare the following aspects of the rearing of this underweight cub to those of normal weight cubs:environmental temperature, daily nursing bouts,and behavior of mother with cub. This investigation offers a method for rearing underweight giant panda cubs in the future.

Key words: Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), Neonatal cub, Nursing, Rearing

关键词: 大熊猫, 初生幼仔, 育幼, 哺乳