Ocean Park Hong Kong had its first panda twin births on August 15, when the park’s female giant panda Ying Ying gave birth to a male and female cub. Ying Ying, who turns 19 on August 16, is the oldest giant panda on record to give birth for the first time. The father of the cubs, Le Le, turned 19 last week.
According to a statement from Ocean Park, Ying Ying started showing signs of pregnancy such as “decreased appetite, increased rest time, and changes in hormonal levels” at the end of July. The pregnancy was confirmed via ultrasound on August 11, and Ying Ying went into labour on August 14. She delivered a female cub weighing 122 grams at 2:05am and the 112-gram male at 3:27am on August 15.
Park officials say that both cubs are under 24-hour intensive care and are currently “very fragile and need time to stabilise, especially the female cub who has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake after birth.” Visitors will only be able to see the cubs after a few months.
Ying Ying and Le Le arrived in Hong Kong in 2007 as gifts from Beijing. Despite attempts to get them to mate since 2010, this is the first time that they have produced offspring. Le Le recently celebrated his 19th birthday on August 8 and the park held combined birthday celebrations for both pandas last week. Ocean Park is also due to receive two more pandas from Mainland China to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. According to media reports, the new pandas will arrive in the SAR at the end of September.
Image credits: Hong Kong Ocean Park
