CHENGDU, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Another giant panda cub was born at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province during the early hours of Monday.

The mother, Dajiao, gave birth to the male cub at around 3:55 a.m. Her water broke at around 2:16 a.m., and the cub, weighing 179 grams, was born less than two hours later, said Wu Kongju, a panda expert at the center.

The mother, born Aug. 30, 2006, has given birth once before.

It is peak season for panda births, and staff at the center have gone to great lengths to take care of the mothers and their cubs.

There are more than 1,300 wild pandas in Sichuan, 15 percent more than 10 years ago. The number of captive pandas in Sichuan is more than 360, accounting for 86.3 percent of all captive pandas nationwide.