She’s The Oldest First-Time Panda Mom In The World, And She Just Gave Birth To A Set Of Twins In Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, a giant panda has given birth to a set of twins, the first cubs to be born in the city. The panda, Ying Ying, delivered one male and one female cub right before her 19th birthday, making her the oldest first-time panda mother in the world, according to Ocean Park, the theme park housing the pandas.
Ying Ying has lived at Ocean Park with her partner, Le Le, since 2007. A 19-year-old panda is equivalent to 57 in human years. The cubs were born on August 15 after a nearly five-month pregnancy.
“This birth is a true rarity, especially considering Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time,” said Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park Corporation.
The female cub was born first, weighing 4.3 ounces. An hour later, the male cub was born at 3.95 ounces. The cubs were under 24-hour intensive care. Currently, they are “very fragile and need time to stabilize.”
The female cub, in particular, “has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake.” They will stay out of the public eye for a few months until they are in better condition.
Ying Ying spent more than five hours in labor. During much of that time, she was lying on the ground and twisting around, as she was a bit nervous about the whole process.
Beijing gifted Ying Ying and Le Le to Hong Kong in 2007. The pandas have made previous failed attempts to conceive. Finally, Ying Ying began showing signs of pregnancy after they successfully mated at the park back in March.
In late July, Ying Ying had a decreased appetite, increased rest time, and changes in hormonal levels. However, her pregnancy was only confirmed several days before she gave birth since panda pregnancies are difficult to detect.
Giant pandas are also notoriously bad at reproducing, which contributes to their declining population. It is estimated that 1,800 of them are left in the wild. Panda breeding programs have helped boost their numbers, though. In recent years, the species have gone from a status of “endangered” to “vulnerable.”
Goinyk – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Ying Ying and her cubs will be monitored closely by veterinary teams at the park and experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Another pair of pandas are expected to arrive from Beijing sometime this year. Hong Kong’s first set of pandas, An An and Jia Jia, arrived in 1999.
Jia Jia was the world’s oldest panda to live in captivity and died at the age of 38 in 2016. An An died at age 35 in 2022.
Giant pandas are native to China and have come to be viewed as a national symbol. They have traditionally represented peace and friendship.
Recently, Beijing has begun to revive the practice of “panda diplomacy,” which is a way to cultivate friendly relationships with other countries by sending them giant pandas.
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