Pink notebook in pandas! Everland Wildlife Park, near the capital of South Korea, has announced the birth of twin baby giant pandas. This is the first twin birth in the country, a happy event generating a wave of enthusiasm on social networks. The twins were born Friday, July 7, said the zoo, which featured them on its YouTube channel. The video, uploaded on Tuesday, shows the mother, Ai Bao, in labor.
Ai Bao gave birth to two tiny pandas, both female. The first twin weighed 180 grams and the second 140 grams, the zoo said. “The mother and twin pandas are in good health,” a zoo representative said in a statement.
The video of the twins’ birth has been viewed 640,000 times on YouTube since it was uploaded. “Welcome to the world, dear babies!” Congratulations to the Bao family,” wrote one netizen. Another commented, “Tears keep pouring out of my eyes because I’m so proud of Ai Bao!” Well done, Ai Bao! Ai Bao and Le Bao, the father, arrived in South Korea in 2016 as official gifts from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Outside of China, only about twenty zoological parks have these herbivorous plantigrades, symbols of Beijing’s diplomatic friendships. Beijing lends pandas to foreign zoos, which generally have to send their potential offspring to China within a few years of their birth, in order to integrate them into the country’s breeding program.