Meng Meng made history in Germany.
She became the first giant panda to give birth in that country. And, she did with flourish delivering twins at the Berlin Zoo on Aug. 31.
The twins, born an hour apart and at 186 grams and 136 grams, are now a month old. They are growing strong doubling and tripling their birth weights. And, the fuzzy pink newborns are now starting to look like actual pandas.
Their black spots and white fur are now really coming in.
Vier Wochen sind unsere Panda-Minis nun alt. #BabyPandasBerlin #Pandas #ZooBerlin pic.twitter.com/LxiNtNXyRn
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 29, 2019
Mit viel Liebe geht es ins Wochenende! #BabyPandasBerlin #Pandas #ZooBerlin #Berlin pic.twitter.com/Qtavczop16
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 27, 2019
On 31 August at 6:54 female #panda Meng Meng gave birth to her very first cub. But mother and child weren’t alone for long, as at 7:42 p.m. a second cub was born! Three weeks have passed since then. #ZooBerlin #babypandasberlin pic.twitter.com/YSU9MXGMYQ
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 22, 2019
Meng Meng, and a male panda, Jiao Qing, are loan from China, as part of that country’s kind of “panda diplomacy” mission in 2017.
Eventually, both of them, and their twins will return to China.
Berlin has been home to a handful of other pandas, including Bao Bao, who died at the age of 34 in 2012.
Today is #WorldClimateDay – let’s see what our young conservation ambassadors are doing. The two are developing thriftily and weigh 563 and 684 grams now. There is no other animal species symbolizing nature conservation, such as the Giant #Panda. #ZooBerlin #babypandasberlin pic.twitter.com/eeCeyHaVsJ
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 20, 2019
One week big #pandalove ❤🐼 Since last Saturday the #babypandasberlin are causing a lot of action at #ZooBerlin. Feeding, belly massage, cuddling – twice. Mother Meng Meng and the Panda team overcome this full-time job really great. We are very #happy! pic.twitter.com/gGPjor9KSJ
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 8, 2019
As any mother of twins knows, it’s not easy.
It’s even more challenging for giant pandas.
Twins aren’t common; and survival of both babies is even more rare.
That’s why Meng Meng has been caring for them in shifts.
Since their first check-up, the two little bears have been spending alternating shifts of two to three hours at a time with their mother. This gives both cubs the best chance of survival, as giant pandas generally only have enough energy to raise one cub. #babypandasberlin pic.twitter.com/d91HOg3dP1
— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 6, 2019
It’s double happiness for Meng Meng, and the zoo.
Meng Meng became a mom – twice! We are so happy, we are speechless! ❤️🐼🍼🐼❤️
#babypandasberlin #pandasberlin #ZooBerlin pic.twitter.com/SKQvxMxO4z— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) September 2, 2019
Panda are an endangered species, according to the World Conservation Union.
There are 1,864 of them in the wild in China at last count. A few hundred more live in zoos around the world as part of conservation partnerships.
Photos Berlin Zoo/Twitter
