A giant panda has given birth in a Belgian zoo, a rare event for an endangered species that numbers fewer than 2,000 worldwide.

The pink, blind, hairless cub weighed just 171 grams.

Hao Hao's "probable" pregnancy was announced just two weeks ago, accompanied by caution about detecting the tiny foetus.

The cub, to be given a name later, emerged as "a little pink sausage" and gave a loud cry before being scooped up in Hao Hao's mouth, the park's zoological director Tim Bouts said.

Mother and baby were now doing well he said, "but we are still in a risky period."

The zoo, which has hosted the pair since 2014 under an arrangement with the Chinese authorities, cooperated with experts from the animals' native China to treat the mother by artificial insemination.

Pairi Daiza said Belgium had become the third country in Europe to see the successful reproduction of pandas after Austria and Spain.

The last successful birth in Europe was at Madrid three years ago.

The animals notoriously struggle to reproduce in captivity, but artificial breeding techniques and better knowledge of their needs has seen an increase in births in recent years.

World nature organisation WWF says a survey in 2014 found only 1,864 giant pandas living in the wild, almost double the numbers in the late 1970s and 17 per cent up in a decade.

The male cub was born overnight at the Paira Daiza wildlife park. ( Facebook: Pairi Daiza )

Reuters