The star attraction of Berlin Zoo, giant panda Meng Meng, has once again given birth to twins.
The panda cubs, born on Thursday, weighed in at 169 grams and 136 grams and measured approximately 14 centimeters each.
Both cubs are in good health and are being carefully monitored by their mother and the zoo’s experienced panda team.
The zoo’s director, Andreas Knieriem, expressed his relief at the cubs’ healthy birth and noted their lively demeanor and their mother’s nurturing instincts.
The sex of the twins has not yet been definitively determined. As with other pandas, their distinctive black and white fur will develop over time.
Meng Meng, who is 11 years old, previously gave birth to male twins in 2019. She was artificially inseminated in March and the cubs were born just 11 days after heartbeats were detected via ultrasound.
Giant pandas typically only raise one cub when they give birth to twins.
To support Meng Meng, the zoo will collaborate with experts from China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
The cubs will alternate being with their mother every few hours to drink milk and will be cared for in an incubator donated by a Berlin hospital.
For the time being, the mother and babies will remain in the panda barn and will not be visible to zoo visitors.
Meng Meng and her mate, Jiao Qing, arrived in Berlin in 2017 as part of a loan agreement with China. Their first set of twins, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, were sent back to China in 2023.
Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed, and their births are celebrated worldwide. With approximately 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity, every new birth is a significant milestone.
