The giant panda cub born 11 days ago has been confirmed a female in the latest medical checkup, officials of the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo said Friday.
Medical staff at the zoo and a panda expert invited from China visibly identified the cub's external genital organs on Thursday in the third round of medical exams conducted since she was born on June 12, they said.
The zoo also consulted a specialist panda research center in China in determining her gender.
The cub appears to be in good health and the zoo continues monitoring her around the clock. On Thursday, she weighed 283.9 grams and was 17.6 centimeters long, 105 grams heavier and 1.2 cm longer than in the second round of tests carried out Saturday, according to the officials.
The zoo earlier said her body had started showing the species' characteristic black-and-white colors, in contrast to merely small pink fluff earlier, before Saturday's checkup.
She was born to the mother Shin Shin and her male partner Ri Ri -- the first panda born at the zoo since 2012. The 11-year-old mother's previous cub died less than a week after being born.
