Chapter 622: Chapter 519: What Should We Name the Giant Panda Cub Born on the First Day of the Lunar New Year?_3
After three consecutive days of heavy snow, temperatures had plummeted to more than ten degrees below zero. Even though the artificial nest had pre-installed insulation boards, there was no door to the nest, so cold air still swept inside.
Could the panda cub really survive in such weather if Jiaojiao gave birth?
Kelas originally wanted to persuade Chen Ying to leave with him, but upon hearing that a giant panda was giving birth out of season, he also became anxious.
As a key member of an animal breeding team, Kelas couldn’t help but be on edge, even though this wasn’t the target animal of his research. He even proactively offered many ideas for the panda team to consider.
Chen Ying was also constantly observing Jiaojiao. He decided that if the weather didn’t warm up by the time Jiaojiao was ready to give birth, he would make her return to the first aid station to deliver, even if it meant forcing her.
Fortunately, the heavens were kind, and around half a month before the Lunar New Year, temperatures began to rise. The lowest temperature stabilized at around seven or eight degrees, and daytime highs were around fifteen degrees. It was still cold, but much warmer than before.
Taking advantage of the time when Jiaojiao went out to eat, Chen Ying added more warm items inside the artificial nest.
On New Year’s Eve, Jiaojiao began to go into labor, and the whole bear was restlessly rolling around in the nest. The wooden blocks Chen Ying had prepared were reduced to shreds by her scratching and biting.
In the surveillance video, Jiaojiao’s breathing was a bit rushed, and the whole bear was restless. Lying down wasn’t comfortable, standing wasn’t either, and after pacing a few steps, she sat down against the nest’s wall, panting heavily, head raised, mouth open, with an expression of pain.
It was Kelas’s first time witnessing a giant panda giving birth firsthand, and he couldn’t bear to blink. At this moment, Meidi couldn’t pull him away from the video.
Of course, Meidi wasn’t bothered to find him; the little guy was sweetly sticking together with Jinya in the forested area of Jiamu Gully First Aid Station.
Jiaojiao’s pre-birth behavior continued until after midnight, and just a minute after the New Year’s bell tolled, her baby was born.
It was a strong little cub, emitting sharp cries immediately upon hitting the ground.
Jiaojiao, though very tired, carefully carried the cub into her arms.
Great Bai, who had been guarding outside the delivery room, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the cub’s cries. The pacing stopped, and he sat down by the nest’s entrance, grinning and looking up at the night sky partially concealed by treetops.
Chen Ying and Daddy Qin approached the nest with fresh bamboo and bamboo shoots. Daddy Qin didn’t move too close, placing the bamboo down before retreating.
Chen Ying placed some bamboo by Great Bai, scratched its neck, and patted its head, “Congratulations, Great Bai, you’re a father now.”
The pure white giant panda’s smile widened, and it nuzzled Chen Ying’s hand. Just as it was about to call out to express its joy, it noticed a change in Chen Ying’s expression, thinking something went wrong, the whole bear immediately straightened up.
“What? Is Jiaojiao still in labor? Is it twins?”
Since the delivery wasn’t over, Chen Ying definitely couldn’t rush in at this point. Otherwise, startling Jiaojiao might lead to complications during birth, which would be bad.
Man and bear stood anxiously outside the nest, waiting for twenty minutes, when another round of panda cub cries came out.
The voice of this cub was more delicate; compared to the previous one’s loud cry, this one’s tone was sharper.
This time, Chen Ying didn’t hesitate. Holding fresh bamboo shoots, he ducked his head and went into the nest.