A frenzy of excitement gripped Hong Kong's Ocean Park on Thursday as tourists looked forward to catching a glimpse of the park's newest members -- a set of newborn panda twins.
China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced the birth of the panda twins early Thursday morning.
The pair, a female and a male, were cubs of Ying Ying and Le Le, pandas given as a gift by the central government to Hong Kong in 2007.
Visitors at Ocean Park were thrilled to hear about the news of this birth, with many hoping to see the park's adorable new residents.
"It's always amazing to see the birth of new pandas, right? We've been here before. We saw the older pandas before. We really enjoyed that, right? And we are looking forward to seeing the new pandas to be available for the tourists very soon," said an Indian tourist.
At the age of 19, Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to give birth for the first time.
"I think Ying Ying is a very lucky panda to be able to be here in Hong Kong and be in such a wonderful environment. Not to mention it's a pigeon pair! She is so lucky. I'm really happy for her," said a visitor from the Chinese mainland.
The park's head of Zoological Operations and Conservation, Howard Chuk, said Ying Ying went through a relatively stressful delivery, so one of their focuses is to ensure her speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, both cubs are under round the clock intensive care, and visitors will have to wait for a couple of months before seeing them.
"It's super exciting to hear that the panda has given birth to babies. But at the same time a little disappointed that we can't see the pandas. We came all the way from India to look at the pandas and we can't see," said another Indian tourist.
Tourists thrilled as Hong Kong Ocean Park welcomes newborn panda twins
