Baby Panda Takes First Steps: San Diego Zoo's Adorable Cub Learns To Walk (VIDEO)

10/19/2012 02:00 pm ET

A new video released yesterday by the San Diego Zoo shows a baby panda learning how to walk. Blinking and squeaking, the adorable panda cub pushes itself up slowly, managing a step or two before tumbling over sleepily.

The cub's first steps were recorded during the yet unnamed bear's ninth check-up at the zoo, where his measurements and weight were recorded.

Now 11 weeks old, the cub is 21.6 inches long and weighs 7.2 pounds. He's also growing little teeth, becoming more active and climbing out of his den himself, according to the zoo.

The son of 20-year-old Bai Yun, the little panda has been nicknamed "Sausage" by zookeepers, but per a Chinese cultural tradition, officials are waiting until the 100-day mark to name the cub.

A lot of attention has been focused on "Sausage" given the recent tragedy at the National Zoo in Washington. It was recently revealed that the death of its 6-day-old giant panda cub was caused by liver and lung problems.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List lists pandas as one of the world's endangered creatures and notes the population is continuing to decline. Between 1,000 and 2,000 mature giant pandas currently remain in the wild. Because captive breeding of the magnificent mammals is so difficult, any panda cub born is considered a victory, and the cub is usually closely watched by the conservationist community.

Luckily, watching pandas at the San Diego Zoo is very easy. The zoo has its very own panda cam, which alternates between views of the panda enclosure and the straw-filled den, where the cub can often be found sleeping.

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