Adventure World, a theme park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, corrected its previous statement on Tuesday and said the giant panda cub born at the park on Nov. 22 is actually female and not male.
The park began soliciting a name for the cub on Thursday through Feb. 23, 2021.
It is difficult to distinguish the sex of a panda cub immediately after its birth because its reproductive organs are not fully developed, according to the park. It said the distance between the urethra and the anus of the cub was about the same as that of males born in the past, so the park announced the newborn as male.
However, a question arose about its sex during a health check, resulting in a reexamination on Monday. After the cub was found to not have testicles, the park concluded it was female.
The cub, which weighed 157 grams at birth, is healthy and currently weighs 1,009 grams.
In 2005, a similar correction had to be made when the park announced Kohin -- a panda cub that is currently in China -- was female but was later declared male when it was 20 days old.
Courtesy of Adventure World
A giant panda cub is seen at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, on Dec. 20.
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