Two panda babies have been born in Berlin Zoo. "Meng Meng is Mama - and twice as much! We are so happy, we are missing the words!" The Zoo said on Twitter. According to a press release, the first panda baby was born on Saturday evening at just before 19 o'clock - after a gestation period of 147 days. About an hour later, Meng Meng gave birth to the second cub.
"Meng Meng and her two cubs have survived the birth well and are well," said veterinarian and zoo director Andreas Knieriem, according to a press release. "Although it's the first offspring for our young panda lady, she takes great care of herself, with the kittens having to drink about every two to three hours, and the warming closeness of the mother is important so the little ones do not cool off."
It is after first unsuccessful attempts with other couples the first Panda birth in Berlin. Six-year-old Meng Meng and three-year-old male Jiao Qing have been living in Berlin Zoo since the summer of 2017. The two pandas are a loan from China and come from a reserve in Chengdu.
Blind, sparsely hairy
All of Berlin is happy about these two newcomers and I express my congratulations to Andreas Knieriem and his zoo team, "said Mayor Michael Müller (SPD).
Chinese experts and the team of the Berlin zoo had waited anxiously for the birth. Zookeepers, veterinarians, biologists and rearing experts watched the expectant panda mom around the clock. For the time being, she and her babies will not be seen by Zoo visitors - unlike Father Jiao Qing, because Panda dads are not involved in the rearing process.
Panda pups are sparsely hairy and born blind. With 186 and 136 grams, the offspring weighs only a fraction of the weight of his mother: Meng-Meng weighs 90 kilograms.
The Berlin Zoo publicized the animal's pregnancy last week - and released an ultrasound scan showing a tiny embryo.
According to that, Meng Meng and panda male Jiao Qing mated about 20 weeks earlier. In addition, Meng Meng was artificially inseminated to increase the likelihood of pregnancy.
Experts had suspected the pregnancy earlier, but the panda female had not been able to move to an ultrasound. At the end of August, zookeepers were able to get the 92 kilogram animal with apple pieces, biscuits and honey water to lie down on its back.
