A remarkable event has taken place at a South Korean theme park as a giant panda gave birth to healthy twin girls.
Ai Bao, the panda, delivered her cubs last Friday at the Everland theme park near Seoul, according to the park’s operator.
Video footage capturing the birth and the mother’s care for her newborns, as well as the examination of the cubs by veterinarians, has been released by the park.
These twin cubs mark the first panda twins ever to be born in South Korea, as announced by the Samsung C&T Resort Group.
Both Ai Bao and her newborns are reported to be in good health, states the resort group in a press statement.
The panda species native to China has been saved from extinction through decades of conservation efforts in the wild and captivity. The population has grown from under 1,000 to over 1,800. In the wild, giant pandas have a life expectancy of about 15 years, while in captivity, they have been known to live up to 38 years.
The resort group plans to closely monitor the health and growth of the cubs to determine when they can be presented to the public. In the meantime, the group intends to showcase the cubs through social media channels.
In 2016, Ai Bao and a male panda named Le Bao arrived at the park on a 15-year lease from China. In 2020, Ai Bao gave birth to a female cub named Fu Bao.
Prior to the birth of these twin cubs, Ai Bao, Le Bao, and Fu Bao were the only pandas in South Korea. Everland’s Panda World, which houses the pandas, has attracted 14 million visitors, according to the resort group.
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Giant panda gives birth to healthy twin girls at South Korean theme park (2023, July 15)
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