Tiny panda cub makes appearance

Giant panda Wu Wen holds her newborn cub at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands (Ouwehands Zoo/via AP)

The tiny cub of a giant panda has made its first appearance at a Dutch zoo.

Ouwehands Zoo, where the cub was born on May 1, distributed the first pictures and video from the maternity den where mother Wu Wen cuddled, embraced and fed the fast-growing cub.

“Its well-filled belly is prominent and the distinctive colouring is very finely starting to appear,” the zoo said in a statement.

The new cub’s gender will not be known until it leaves the maternity den, probably in a few months’ time, with its mother.

Giant panda Wu Wen holds her newly born cub at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands — Wu Wen holds her newborn cub at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands (Ouwehands Zoo/via AP)

Wu Wen and male panda Xing Ya arrived in the Netherlands from Sichuan province in 2017 as part of a loan programme.

The zoo said the new cub also belongs to China and can remain in the Netherlands for four years before going to China to join the breeding programme there.

Around 420 pandas live in captivity in zoos and reserves, the majority within China, while an estimated 1,864 live in the wild.