CHENGDU - A 19-year-old giant panda on Sunday gave birth to this year's first cub in the Chengdu Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in southwest Sichuan Province.

Nineteen years is an advanced maternal age for pandas, compared with the average life span of 25 years for the endangered animal.

The mother Li Li was given artificial fertilization with sperm from Qiubang, a panda returned from Japan, after her natural mating failed in March.

Weighing 161 grams, the new-born is a healthy female cub. Both Li Li and the baby are in good shape, according to veterinarians at the center.

With the new cub, the total number of pandas captive in the world's largest panda base reached 97.

Dubbed as the hometown of giant pandas, Sichuan has two panda bases -- one in Chengdu, and the other in Wolong. A panda, nicknamed "Su Lin," in the Wolong panda base, gave birth to its first panda cub of the year on July 7.