Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed Rio, was born Nov. 27 at a conservation park in West Java province. He is stable and showing healthy early signs, the park said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The first giant panda cub ever born in Indonesia is thriving, vocal, and feeding well, according to the conservation park caring for him.
Taman Safari Indonesia shared new photos and video of the fluffy newborn resting in an incubator, wriggling and squeaking while being gently held by his mother.
The cub was born on Nov. 27 at the park’s facility in Cisarua, West Java. His 15-year-old mother, Hu Chun, gave him the care from the start. He has been officially named Satrio Wiratama, with the nickname Rio.
Park officials said the name represents hope, resilience, and the shared conservation partnership between Indonesia and China.
Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, publicly announced the cub’s name and displayed his photo during a recent meeting with senior Chinese official Wang Huning.
Rio remains in stable condition and is showing strong signs of health, including loud vocalizations, effective nursing, and steady weight gain. Over the coming weeks, caretakers expect him to begin regulating his body temperature better, grow more fur, open his eyes, and become more active.
For now, the park says the cub will not be shown to the public as staff focus on the well-being of both mother and baby.
The cub’s parents, Hu Chun and male panda Cai Tao, arrived in Indonesia in 2017 under a 10-year conservation agreement with China. They live in a specialized enclosure about 40 miles outside Jakarta.
Giant pandas are often seen as symbols of China and are famously part of the country’s “panda diplomacy,” where the animals are loaned to other nations as a sign of cooperation.
Panda births are considered especially rare and valuable. Fewer than 1,900 giant pandas remain in the wild, living only in parts of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces in China.