This is a first for this species in the city-state of Southeast Asia.
The Singapore Zoo announced on Sunday the birth of a panda from artificial insemination.
Jia Jia, the 12-year-old female giant panda, gave birth to her cub after being inseminated with the frozen sperm of 13-year-old Kai Kai, said in a statement Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the operator of the wildlife parks of the island.
After several unsuccessful attempts in recent years, zoo keepers, working with Chinese experts, hoped the pandas would mate naturally.
But they finally decided to resort to artificial insemination.
Difficult reproduction for a vulnerable species
"Jia Jia's first pregnancy and the birth of a baby is an important milestone for us in taking care of this endangered species in Singapore," said Cheng Wen-Haur, deputy general manager of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, quoted in the press release.
“This is the result of good animal care, the science of assisted reproduction and the absolute perseverance of our staff, coupled with the invaluable advice of Chinese panda experts,” he continued.
The pandas, arrived in Singapore in 2012, have been loaned for ten years by China.
Breeding pandas - in captivity or in the wild - is notoriously difficult, experts say, because few animals want to mate or because when they do, they don't know how.
Another difficulty is that the conception window is narrow: female pandas are only in heat once a year, for about 24 to 48 hours.
The giant panda is considered a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It is estimated that less than 2,000 remain in the wild.
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