Friday, September 10, 2010

Twin giant panda cubs born at Madrid Zoo

A panda has given birth to two healthy baby cubs in a zoo in Madrid. Weighing in a little over 150 grams each, Hua Zui Ba's twins are the first to be born in Spain since 1982 and are only the third litter to be born in Europe.

This is the second insemination attempt that has taken place with Hua Zui Ba, with the first proving unsuccessful with it being notoriously difficult to get panda's to breed naturally when in captivity.



The new mother, who's name means Flowery Mouth, licked her cubs clean once the labour had finished and the twins are currently taking turns in being nursed.

The cubs father, Bing Xing, 'shows no interest whatsoever' in his offspring but this is typical at this stage in their lives due to the mother's fierce protective instincts to stop her babies from being stamped or crushed by an adult panda. Veterinarians have said it will be a few more days before they will be able to determine the sex of the panda cubs.

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