Cameras have caught the moment a panda gave birth to a tiny, wriggling cub in China.

After hours of waiting, on Saturday August 25, four-time mother Yuan Yuan went into labor at the Chengdu Giant Panda Base.

After three hours, Yuan Yuan finally gave birth to the cub. She quickly picked the youngster up in her mouth and moved over to a corner of the enclosure to protect it.

After she had given it a good clean, the cub was whisked away by keepers and placed in an incubator. Over the coming days it will be given around-the-clock attention.

Pandas are notoriously difficult to breed, having only a two or three day fertility window every year. There are thought to be less than 1,900 left in the world, which means whilst the cub may have been small, it was certainly important.