The Berlin Zoo announced on Friday that giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins for the second time. The cubs, born just 11 days after ultrasound scans confirmed the pregnancy, are tiny and healthy. The sex of the cubs has not yet been determined. Chinese experts are assisting with the care of the cubs, as giant pandas typically only raise one cub when giving birth to twins.
Meng Meng and male panda Jiao Qing arrived in Berlin in 2017 and welcomed male twins in August 2019. The twins were flown back to China in December as part of a longstanding “panda diplomacy” policy. The new arrivals will also be returned to China in the future. Panda births are highly celebrated due to the species’ difficulty in breeding, with only a few hundred in captivity worldwide.
The new cubs and their mother will not be on public display for the time being, but visitors can still see Jiao Qing. Meng Meng was artificially inseminated in March, as female pandas are only fertile for a few days per year. The Berlin Zoo is monitoring the cubs closely during their critical first few days. The zoo director expressed relief that the cubs were born healthy and that Meng Meng is taking great care of them. Giant pandas are adored by people around the world, and the birth of these twins has brought much joy to the zoo and panda enthusiasts.
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Photo credit www.wishtv.com