Ying Ying, a giant panda in Hong Kong who had been struggling to get pregnant, gave birth to a baby before she turned 19, which is equivalent to 57 years in human years.
HONG KONG – A giant panda has given birth to Hong Kong’s first twin cubs, officials said in a surprise announcement, making her the territory’s oldest first-time panda mother.
World’s oldest first-time panda mother gives birth to twins
The panda, Ying Ying, gave birth to a male and a female cub on Thursday, according to Ocean Park, the theme park where she and her partner Le Le have lived since 2007. The twins were born before Ying Ying turned 19, which is equivalent to 57 years in human years.
“This delivery is indeed a rare event, especially considering that Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth for the first time,” Paulo Pong, president of the Ocean Park organization, said in an announcement on Thursday. The female cub was born first, weighing 122 grams (4.3 ounces), while the male cub was born more than an hour later, weighing 112 grams (3.95 ounces).
The park said the cubs were placed in intensive care 24 hours a day and would not be seen in public for a few months. The cubs “are very fragile right now and need time to stabilize,” the park said. “Especially the female cub whose body temperature is low, she cries less and eats less.”
Ying Ying, whose pregnancy was only revealed on Sunday and has not been made public, labored for more than five hours. “As a first-time mother, Ying Ying was naturally anxious during the procedure,” the park’s announcement said. “She spent most of her time lying on the floor and turning from side to side.”
Giant pandas are notoriously poor at reproducing, especially when they get older, and panda pregnancies are difficult to detect. However, panda breeding programmes are seeing increasing success, and the bears have been upgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in recent years.
Ocean Park said Ying Ying began showing signs of pregnancy in late July, including a decreased appetite, increased resting time and changes in hormonal levels.