First Panda Twins of the Year

/ update from Pandas International

Fabulous news for the Giant Panda population: Haizi, a wildborn female panda at the Woolong Nature Reserve gave birth to healthy twin cubs on Saturday, June 22, after mating with wildborn males Bai Yang and Yi Bao earlier this year. These are the very first panda twins to be born in the world this year. When twins are born in the wild, mothers will typically select the stronger of the two to nurture. The first cub was born at 4:54 pm and is with its mother (as of Sunday, she hadn’t yet released it from her embrace but its size and the sounds it is making indicate it is doing well) and the second cub (a female weighing 79.2 grams, born 10 minutes later) is being taken care of by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda staff. Pandas International shares more details here.