Adorable one-month-old panda twins born during the coronavirus crisis are named ‘safe’ and ‘sound’
- Adorable footage shows the twins in an incubator at a breeding centre in China
- The baby pandas were born one month ago during the coronavirus pandemic
- They were named ‘Ping Ping’ and ‘An An’, meaning ‘safe and sound’ in Chinese
- The cubs are the world’s first set of panda twins to be born in captivity this year
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
A pair of panda twins born in China last month has been named ‘Ping Ping’ and ‘An An’, meaning ‘safe’ and ‘sound’, to bring hope to a world in crisis.
A video released by state broadcaster CCTV shows the baby bears resting inside an incubator with slightly black-and-white fur.
The cubs were given birth by a 16-year-old giant panda on March 17 at a breeding centre in China. They were the world’s first set of panda twins to be born in captivity this year.
A video released by state broadcaster CCTV captured the baby bears inside an incubator turning more black-and-white like their mother, nicknamed Fuwa or ‘Lucky Doll’
The mother bear, nicknamed Fuwa or the ‘lucky doll’, gave birth to the panda twins at the Chengdu Research and Breeding Base of Giant Panda in south-eastern China.
Rare footage showed Fuwa holding the pink cubs and licking them affectionately after they were born.
‘This is the fifth time Fuwa has become a mother,’ said Wu Kongju, a researcher at the centre. ‘It is very rare for pandas to give birth in spring. She is turning 17 this year and now has eight babies.’
‘It is also rare for Fuwa to show this much affection towards her babies. We are very glad,’ Ms Wu added.
The baby pandas weighed 159.8 grams (0.35 pounds) and 119.5 grams (0.26 pounds) respectively when they were born.
The healthy one-month-old cubs now weigh over one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and 800 grams (1.76 pounds).
The healthy male twins, weighed 159.8 grams (0.35 pounds) and 119.5 grams (0.26 pounds) respectively when they were born in March, The healthy one-month-old cubs now weigh over one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and 800 grams (1.76 pounds)
‘This is the fifth time for Fuwa to become a mother,’ said Wu Kongju, a researcher at the centre. ‘It is very rare to give birth in spring. She is turning 17 this year and now has eight babies’
The twins still have their eyes closed as panda cubs usually open their eyes for the first time until they are six to eight weeks of age.
The research team has given the cubs round-the-clock care and monitoring their temperatures daily. The mother bear also received extra care with nutritious meals to help her recover from the labour.
Ms Wu said the staff at the panda centre made a swift response to the coronavirus outbreak in late January.
The keepers stored a large amount of bamboo to ensure a sufficient supply of food for the pandas. They also closely monitored activities of the animals as spring is a mating season for giant pandas.
The twins still have their eyes closed as panda cubs usually open their eyes for the first time over 40 days after they are born, according to state broadcaster CCTV
Why are panda cubs pink?
When pandas are born, they are hairless and pink. Their iconic black-and-white coat only starts to grow when they are about six months old
Most panda cubs are born in the months of June, July and August.
When it is born, a baby panda is hairless and pink. It starts to have a black-and-white coat at around six months old.
A cub usually weighs 140 grams (4.9 ounces) at birth, or about one-thousandth of its mother’s weight.
It can grow up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) when it turns one.
At China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, when a panda is born overweight, special care will be given by the keepers.
A baby panda is fed with breast milk from its mother. It starts to eat solid food, such as bamboo, when it reaches one year old.
Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months old.
Panda cubs are born with soft fingernails, which will grow to be thick, hard claws.
At about five to seven months old, cubs are ready to climb trees.
Source: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, People’s Daily, San Diego Zoo
The research team made a swift response to the coronavirus outbreak which started in January, according to the panda centre. Two staff members are seen taking care of the cubs
The news comes as another panda conservation centre in China faces has sparked outrage after one of its cubs allegedly died of suffocation in an accident.
The baby panda, nearly eight months old, had dangled off a wooden rack with a rope around its neck for some seven hours before being found by keepers at a breeding centre in Sichuan Province.
The centre said the rope was attached to a toy ball and the cub had wrapped it around its neck while playing by itself in the wee hours on April 9.
Panda fans, who witnessed the horror in a live-streamed video, have accused the centre of neglecting its responsibilities and demanded a thorough investigation.
Panda cub Lu Lu Zai was found dead at 9am on April 9 after dangling off a wooden rack for around seven hours, said China’s Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Pandas
The file picture shows a panda born in 2019 posing next to a decoration at the Shenshuping breeding base on January 25. The state-run breeding centre has been blasted by panda fans