A giant panda on loan to Belgium from China has given birth to a cub, a rare event for the endangered species, the Pairi Daiza zoo said Thursday.

The zoo and the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda "have the great pleasure to announce the birth of a panda cub", Pairi Daiza said in a statement.

"Less than 2,000 pandas can be found in the wild, making every birth a true miracle", it said.

"Over the past twenty years, only two European countries (Austria and Spain) were able, with China's help, to successfully reproduce pandas.

"Belgium will thus be the third European country to have ever had the pleasure of welcoming a panda cub."

The mother, Hao Hao, and her mate Xing Hui were loaned to Belgium for 15 years in February 2014, on the occasion of a state visit to the kingdom by China's President Xi Jinping.

She was artificially inseminated twice in February with the sperm of Xing Hui.

The zoo, in Brugelette, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Brussels, said last month that Hao Hao was showing signs she could be pregnant, but had remained cautious over whether she would actually give birth.

"For several weeks, she ate twice the usual amounts of bamboo, then she became increasingly disinterested in food and began to refuse to leave her cave", Hao Hao's minder Tania Stroobant had said.

"Very recently we also noticed a swelling of her breasts which indicates that she is preparing to breastfeed."

There remain about 1,800 freely roaming pandas in the world, with about 400 in captivity, mainly in southwest China.

Critically endangered Sumatran elephant gives birth
Jakarta (AFP) June 2, 2016 - A critically endangered Sumatran elephant has given birth to her third calf in Indonesia, an official said Thursday.

The female calf was born in the early hours of Wednesday at Tesso Nilo National Park on Sumatra island, said park head Tandya Tjahjana.

"The baby calf is in a healthy condition," Tjahjana said.

The mother is part of a specialist elephant team -- known as the "Flying Squad" -- that helps herd wild elephants in the park away from human populations.

There have been instances of wild elephants being killed in clashes near plantations on Sumatra island. Around 150 are believed to live in the protected park.

Sumatran elephants are critically endangered. It is estimated between 2,400 and 2,800 remain in the wild, said conservation group WWF.

Last month a Sumatran elephant died in an ill-equipped zoo in the Indonesian city of Bandung, sparking public outrage.