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Zoo Atlanta giant panda gives birth to 3rd cub

The Associated Press Published Wednesday, November 3, 2010 9:00AM EDT

In this Jan. 12, 2007 file photo, Giant Panda panda mother Lun Lun , right, eats bamboo as her cub Mei Lan explores her new habitat at Zoo Atlanta. Zoo officials say Lun Lun has given birth to her third cub at 5:39 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 in a specially prepared birthing den.(AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

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ATLANTA - A giant panda at Zoo Atlanta has given birth to her third cub, the only panda birth at a U.S. zoo so far this year.

Zoo officials say Lun Lun gave birth to the cub at 5:39 a.m. on Wednesday in a specially prepared birthing den.

Zoo Atlanta is one of only four U.S. zoos with the endangered animals. The others are in San Diego, Memphis and Washington, D.C.

Lun Lun was inseminated with sperm from her partner, Yang Yang (yahng yahng), in June after the two failed to mate. The couple's previous cubs were Mei Lan, born in 2006, and Xi Lan, born in 2008.

Researchers estimate only 1,600 to 3,000 of the endangered species remain in the wild and another 200 in captivity.