Panda Twins Flourish in Their First 5 Days at Berlin Zoo

At the Berlin Zoo, Germany’s latest panda twins are doing well. The cubs are spending their initial days bonding and nursing from their mother every hour. This period is critical for their survival.

Born last Thursday to eleven-year-old mother Meng Meng, these twins are in a vulnerable stage. The zoo has shared its cautious optimism, as panda cub mortality rates tend to be highest during the first two weeks and the first month of life. This is particularly due to the underdeveloped immune systems of newborn pandas.

In normal circumstances, only one cub typically survives when giant pandas give birth to twins. Therefore, to ensure both cubs have the best chance at life, the zoo has enlisted the help of experts from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, who are visiting Berlin.

While one twin is kept with their mother, the other is being cared for in an incubator that was generously donated by a local hospital. This dual approach is crucial for the twins’ survival during this early stage.

“Without protective measures, the giant panda would most likely already be extinct,” noted zoo director Andreas Knieriem. He emphasized that “every cub that grows up healthy counts,” highlighting the importance of conservation efforts.

The practice of gifting pandas as a symbol of goodwill has a rich history, often referred to as “panda diplomacy.” Currently, China loans pandas to international zoos under commercial agreements. Wild panda populations are estimated to be around 1,800, with several hundred residing in captivity across the globe.

At birth, the pandas were still deaf, blind, and pink, with their iconic black-and-white markings expected to develop later. The firstborn twin currently weighs 180 grams, while the second weighs approximately 145 grams. Both have regained their birth weights and gained additional grams, which the zoo interprets as a positive indication of their health. As of now, the sex of the cubs has not been definitively identified.

Meng Meng was artificially inseminated on March 26, as female pandas have a very limited window of fertility, typically just a few days each year. The twins’ father, fourteen-year-old Jiao Qing, will not be involved in the rearing of the cubs.

Meng Meng and Jiao Qing made their way to Berlin in 2017. In August 2019, Meng Meng notably gave birth to male twins, named Pit and Paule, as well as their Chinese names, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan. These twins were the first giant pandas born in Germany.

The twins born in 2019 eventually returned to China in December, a journey that had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the relocation was part of a prior agreement.