Unexpected twin cub for giant panda Mei Xiang at Washington zoo

One of Mei Xiang’s twin giant panda cubs is examined by vets at the Smithsonian National Zoo, in Washington. Becky Malinsky / AP Photos

WASHINGTON // A rare giant panda called Mei Xiang gave birth to twin cubs at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC on Saturday, apparently surprising zoo officials who had expected one birth.

A first tiny cub – pink, hairless and only about the size of an adult mouse – was born at 5.35pm and Mei Xiang reacted by tenderly picking her new cub up.

After the zoo announced the birth, the live internet video feed from her enclosure crashed, likely as a result of a high volume of viewers, the zoo said.

“All of us are thrilled that Mei Xiang has given birth,” zoo director Dennis Kelly said. “The cub is vulnerable at this tiny size but we know Mei is an excellent mother.”

Pandas are challenging to breed in captivity but just when conservationists thought they had heard all the good news, the zoo tweeted just a few hours later: “We can confirm a second cub was born at 10:07. It appears healthy. #PandaStory.”

The birth of the twins appeared to be a surprise because the zoo’s Twitter feed had only referred to the expected birth of a single cub.

The mother panda’s care team had started preparing after they saw Mei Xiang’s waters break about an hour before the first birth. They hope to carry out neonatal exams in the coming days and will not know the cubs’ gender until a later date.

Mei Xiang (“beautiful fragrance”), 17, had a cub in 2005 which was sent to China, and another, Bao Bao, is now two years old and lives with her in Washington.

She also lost at least two other cubs, one that was stillborn in 2013 and another that lived six days in 2012.

This year, Mei Xiang exhibited signs of pregnancy in July that included sleeping more, eating less, building a nest and spending more time in her den.

The zoo said Mei Xiang will spend almost all her time in her den for the next two weeks.

The enclosure will be closed to provide quiet, although online “panda cams” will provide a video stream of the creatures.

On Tuesday, Malaysia announced that a giant panda at its National Zoo, Liang Liang, had given birth. The newborn’s sex has yet to be determined.

There are fewer than 2,000 pandas now left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, as their habitats have been ravaged by development.

The building of roads and railways has seen the bamboo forests they depend upon cut down in China’s Yangtze Basin, their primary habitat.

Pandas rely on bamboo and eat almost nothing else. Given their low birth rate, captive breeding programmes are key to ensuring their survival.

* Agence France-Presse