Twins! This is how the Madrid Zoo Aquarium announced the news on its social media accounts.
A giant panda ceded to Spain by China gave birth to twins at the Zoo Aquarium in Madrid on Monday, the second time in the history of the zoo.
The two giant pandas, who have weighed 171 and 137 grams respectively, were born to their mother Hua Zuiba and father Bing Xing. The first birth occurred at 8:30 am local time and the second four hours later, according to the zoo. The pink-skinned hatchlings will be totally dependent on their mother for the next four months until they can walk on their own and be introduced to the pagoda.
These calves are Hua and Bing's fifth and sixth children, including another pair of twins who were born in 2010, so the delivery was very uneventful for an experienced mother.
In the video presented by the Madrid Zoo, a pink baby panda appears moving energetically before the mother takes the newborn in her mouth and licks it while holding it in her lap.
Panda cubs are born hairless and with pinkish skin, and are completely dependent on their mother for the first few months of life.
The species is listed by the IUCN conservation group as 'vulnerable', after spending several years 'endangered'. Thanks to conservation efforts, there are around 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and around 500 in captivity around the world, where twin births are not uncommon.
