Giant panda gives birth to twins in Madrid

MADRID

A giant panda gave birth to twins at a zoo in the Spanish capital, Zoo Aquarium de Madrid proudly announced on Monday.

In a statement, the zoo said that the first birth took place at around 8.30 a.m local time and the second at 12 noon (0630GMT and 1000GMT).

According to the statement, the twins’ arrival was a welcome and unexpected development for the shy creatures.

The twin pandas, born with pink skin, will be completely dependent on their mother for the next four months, after which they will start walking on their own, the statement added.

“Throughout today, the first veterinary check-up will be carried out by the Madrid Zoo veterinary team in collaboration with two Chinese technicians from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,” the statement said, adding that vets will check the panda cubs’ weight, vital signs and gender.

Female Hua Zui Ba and male Bing Xing’s cubs are the sixth and seventh panda births at the zoo, the statement added.

The last giant panda cub at the Madrid zoo was born five years ago.

“The panda, with its distinctive black and white coat, is adored by the world and considered a national treasure in China,” according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which classifies the charming mammals as vulnerable.