Twin cubs of Ying Ying were born in Hong Kong. According to an amusement park where the twins live, as of Thursday Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda ever to successfully give birth to a cub for the first time.

The city’s Ocean Park said a male and female cub were born just one day before Ying Ying’s 19th birthday, marking the first birth of twin pandas in China’s semi-autonomous region.

Ying Ying and her partner Le Le, the boys’ father, were gifted to Hong Kong from Beijing in 2007. Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong thanked the mainland and Hong Kong government for their “continued support and generosity” in making the event possible, adding that the birth was a “true rarity”.

Photo shows the first giant panda twin cubs born in Hong Kong, a female (left) and a male, being gently held at the city’s Ocean Park on Aug. 15, 2024. Mother Ying Ying becomes the world’s oldest giant panda to successfully give birth to a cub for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Ocean Park Hong Kong)(Kyodo)

The park first suspected Ying Ying was pregnant in late July after noticing changes in her behavior. An ultrasound scan last Sunday confirmed this suspicion, the statement said.

The first-time mother went into labor on Wednesday evening and gave birth to the twin boys after a strenuous labor lasting over five hours.

The newborn cubs are currently receiving round-the-clock care due to their fragile condition, the park added. Visitors will have to wait several more months before they can meet the panda cubs in person.

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