A male panda cub was born in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province in the wee hours of Aug 19.

Si Yuan, the new mother, and her cub. [Huang Zhiling/China Daily]

"This is the second panda birth this month, after the female cub born on August 12," said base chief Zhang Zhihe.

Si Yuan, the mother panda, was born in October 2004. On March 27, she mated with her partner Yong Yong. On July 25, she started eating less and for the next 25 days, she ate less bamboo and liked to sleep.

After more than nine hours of labor, she gave birth at 5:03 am on Aug 19 to a male cub weighing 181 grams, Zhang said.

Both the mother and cub are in stable condition, he added.

Set up in 1987, his base is home to 111 pandas.