Meng Meng, an 11-year-old female giant panda at Zoo Berlin, has given birth to twins, zoo authorities announced on Friday.
The bear's eagerly awaited second birth occurred at 13:03 and 14:19 on Thursday in Zoo Berlin's Panda Garden, said the zoo in a press release.
Both cubs, weighing 169g and 136g and measuring approximately 14cm in length, are doing well. The zoo said the cubs now alternately drink milk with their mother every two to three hours and are otherwise cared for by the panda team in a cozy, warm incubator.
According to Andreas Knieriem, CEO and Director of Zoo Berlin, keepers at the zoo have maintained the utmost professionalism in caring for Meng Meng and ensuring a healthy birth.
"We are so happy that we have twins and it's the second time for Germany now to receive giant pandas born in Germany," said Andreas Knieriem, CEO and Director of Zoo Berlin.
Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species. Nearly 1,900 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi in China, rising from 1,100 in the 1980s.
Meng Meng arrived from China in 2017. In August 2019, she gave birth to the first-ever twin panda cubs, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, in Germany. In line with the agreement between Zoo Berlin and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the twins returned to their hometown of Chengdu after living in Berlin for four years.
This latest set of twins are also a success for the ongoing collaboration between Berlin Zoo and Chinese Panda experts from Chengdu.
"It's always feeling good that you have experts around in China and they send very splendid keepers here to us, so we feel extra safe. And if you feel extra safe, I think it's easier to cross fingers that everything is going right here," Knieriem said.
The keepers will require some time to determine the gender of the newborns. Once this is established, the cubs will be given names.
Giant panda Meng Meng gives birth to twins at Berlin zoo
Giant panda Meng Meng gives birth to twins at Berlin zoo
Giant panda Meng Meng gives birth to twins at Berlin zoo
