At the 26th of August 2008 at 3:46 p.m., a keeper at Oji zoo noticed Dan Dan licking and holding a newborn cub.

KOBE--A giant panda cub was born at the Oji Zoo in Nada Ward, Kobe, on Tuesday, the zoo has announced.

The cub was born to mother Dan Dan and her partner Xing Xing, both 12, as the result of artificial insemination.

The giant panda cub is the first to be delivered at the municipal government-operated zoo and the 11th to be born in the nation--the others were delivered at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo or Adventure World in Shirahamacho, Wakayama Prefecture.

Of the 11, the new delivery is the fourth to be conceived via artificial insemination, and the first by that method since 1988.

According to the municipal government, at 3:46 p.m. Tuesday, a keeper at the zoo noticed Dan Dan licking and holding the newborn cub, which is about 20 centimeters long. Its sex is still unknown.