A 16-year-old giant panda has been captured on camera nursing her twin cubs right after giving birth to them.
The rare footage shows the mother bear, nicknamed Fuwa or the ‘lucky doll’, lovingly holding the baby pandas and licking them on Tuesday at a breeding centre in China.
The twins are both male and healthy. They weighed 159.8 grams (0.35 pounds) and 119.5 grams (0.26 pounds) respectively.
A 16-year-old giant panda has been captured on camera giving birth to her twin panda cubs
The rare footage on Tuesday shows the mother, Fuwa the ‘lucky doll’, lovingly holding the baby pandas and licking them in her arms at the Chengdu Research and Breeding Base in China
The healthy male twins, 159.8 grams (0.35 pounds) and 119.5 grams (0.26 pounds) respectively. They were also the world’s first captive-bred twin panda of the new decade
The cubs are the world’s first set of panda twins to be born in captivity this year, according to the Chengdu Research and Breeding Base of Giant Panda in southeastern China.
‘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 research team made a swift response to the coronavirus outbreak which started in January, according to the panda centre.
The staff 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.
‘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’
‘It is also rare for Fuwa to show this much affection towards her babies. We are very glad,’ Ms Wu added. The picture shows one of the twin panda babies which were born on Tuesday
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
It comes as China’s health ministry today claimed the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province had no new cases of the deadly contagion which has ripped across the globe.
The ministry said Thursday that results over the past 24 hours showed 34 new cases, all detected in people arriving from abroad.
In the central province of Hubei, there were eight new deaths, with the provincial capital Wuhan accounting for six of the fatalities.
China’s health ministry today claimed the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province had no new cases of the deadly contagion which has ripped across the globe. The picture shows medical staff treating a patient at a hospital in Wuhan
Two medics are seen bidding a farewell after medical teams from across China began leaving Wuhan this week after the number of new coronavirus infections dropped in the country
Of the 34 imported infections, Beijing accounted for 21 cases, a daily record for the city. It brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 80,928, including 3,245 deaths.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million and the capital of central Hubei province, has been locked down since the Lunar New Year festival in mid-January, and remains the only city still designated as ‘high-risk’ in the province and subject to strict travel bans.
Meanwhile, more than 224,00 cases have been detected globally, with 9,249 dead. Italy has recorded the highest one-day official coronavirus death toll yesterday since the first case was detected in China late last year.
There are 2,695 confirmed cases and 137 deaths in the UK. Boris Johnson has hinted London could face a total lockdown within days amid fears the ‘superspreader city’ is the engine of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak.
The Prime Minister refused to rule out the possibility of ‘further and faster measures’ to control the spread of the virus on the busy streets of the capital, where the epidemic is running ahead of the rest of the country.
A commuter is seen wearing a protective face mask on a crowded train at Clapham North underground station as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world
Meanwhile, more than 224,00 cases have been detected globally, with 9,249 dead. People wearing face masks walk past members of the Household Cavalry standing guard today