BERLIN (AP) – The Berlin Zoo announced on Friday that longtime resident giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins – for a second time.
The cubs were born on Thursday, the zoo said in a statement. They were born only 11 days after ultrasound scans showed that Meng Meng, 11, was pregnant. Their sex has not yet been determined “with certainty”.
“Now it’s time to keep your fingers crossed for the critical first few days,” the zoo said. The cubs are tiny, weighing just 169 grammes (g) and 136g respectively, and are about 14 centimetres (cm) long.
As with other large bears, giant pandas are born deaf, blind and pink. Their black-and-white panda markings only develop later. “I am relieved that the two were born healthy,” zoo director Andreas Knieriem said. “The little ones make a lively impression and mum Meng Meng takes great care of her offspring.”
The zoo said that giant pandas usually only raise one cub when they give birth to twins, so it will “actively support” Meng Meng’s child care in cooperation with two experts from China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding who are in the German capital.
