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Tokyo's zoo has added a cub to the panda family. Mother panda Shin Shin has given birth to the first naturally-conceived cub in more than 2 decades.

She was brought to Japan from China just before the March 2011 devastating earthquake and tsunami.

A panda has been born at a Tokyo zoo for the first time in 24 years.

Japan's capital city's popular Ueno Zoo says the panda was born Thursday. The 7-year-old mother was brought to Japan from China just before Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami last year.

Zoo officials say the pair appear to be in good health but will be monitored around the clock.

Shin Shin is doing a good job as a mother, nursing her new cub and even holding it while she sleeps.

A female giant panda Xiannu, named Shin Shin in Japan, is seen through a window glass at Ueno Zoological Park in Tokyo June 28, 2012.

The new addition to the panda family brought in big numbers of onlookers during its first week in the world.

Giant pandas have a low birth rate and artificial insemination has been common in captive breeding programs.

A breeding expert at the Panda Center in Sichuan province, where Shin Shin grew up, arrived Thursday and joined the team.

Shin Shin and her mate, Ri Ri, are on loan from China for 10 years. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the cub will be sent to China in two years.

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