CHENGDU, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A captive-bred giant panda has given birth to the first cub of the year in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said Thursday.

It is the world's first captive-bred panda cub born in 2019.

The female cub, weighing 166.8 grams, was born early on Wednesday at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, the base said.

The delivery was smooth. The newly-born panda cried loudly, an indicator of good health, while the mother Ji Li properly fed her baby, according to the base.

It was the second birth of Ji Li, who was born in Chengdu in 2007.

In June 2016, Ji Li gave birth to twins, a male and female.

A dozen panda cubs were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding last year. It was home to 195 captive pandas by the end of 2018.

The giant panda was scientifically discovered 150 years ago and named in the city of Ya'an, Sichuan. It remains one of the world's most endangered species.

The number of captive pandas was 548 globally as of last November. Fewer than 2,000 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Enditem

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