Twin Baby Pandas Born at Zoo Atlanta; Shocked Zoo Officials Delighted (PHOTO, VIDEO)
Twin baby pandas have been born at Zoo Atlanta, stunning officials at the zoo as it took them by surprise and is their first twin panda cubs.
The zoo's giant panda, Lun Lun, gave birth to the twins, and since them zoo staff have jumped into action to offer care and support, overseeing their early progress.
The first baby panda was born at 6.21 p.m. local time on Monday evening, and the second was born just two minutes later at 6.23 p.m.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Dwight Lawson, Zoo Atlanta deputy director, has said, "She's a good mom and an experienced mom, but this is a little different for her as well," according to WSBTV.
The cubs are reportedly being rotated between spending time with their mom and being inside an incubator, so that each gets a variety of care they need at this early period.
Zoo keepers have stressed that they are being overly cautious at this time to ensure they give the twin pandas the best possible chance.
"It's literally an hour-to-hour thing given how small and fragile they are. At this stage things can be going well one minute and literally the next, you're in crisis mode because something's happened," Lawson described.
The twins are in fact the fourth and fifth babies for Lun Lun and her mate Yang Yang.
The two adult pandas arrived at Zoo Atlanta 14 years ago from China.
Even though the two twin pandas were born on Monday, veterinarians are still to determine their sex. They have confirmed that the sex of the newborns should be possible to be determined within the upcoming few days.
Zookeepers are planning to continue to be cautious and do not plan to display the newborns to the public until in November if everything goes well.
Here is a video news report into the birth of the new baby twin pandas:
