International Superstar Kung Fu Panda Po Gives Birth to a Pigeon Pair(Twins)

2019-07-11 by http://www.panda.org.cn/english/news

Giant Panda Po, who recently returned to Chengdu, gave birth to a pigeon pair at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on July 6, 2019. The first cub, male, was born at 7:14am, weighing211.6g, and the second cub, female, was born at 9:28am, weighing 209g. Both the mom and cubs are in good health at present. These two cubs are the heaviest pigeon pair (twins) ever in the world among captive giant pandas at birth.
 

Po mated on March 20, 2019. During her pregnancy, Po was very quiet and seldom sauntered around, showing no outward signs of anxiety. Her water broke at 4:47am on July 6, but she did not seem too irritated. The two cubs’ birth weighttotaled over 200g. In general, a panda weighs about 150g when it is born, and for a twin, one is usually heavier than the other. It is very rare to see both twins with birth weights exceed 200g. The same thing happened to giant panda Yingying, the father of the twins. Both Yingying and his female twin Nini weighed over 200g when they were born, 206g and 202g, respectively, slightly less than Po’s twins. The twins’ combined weight is 5 times greater than that of Thumb Girl” (birth weight: 42.8g) born at the Base on June 11 this year.

　　Po was mistaken as a lad in the past but has shown her acumen as a mom

Po was born at the Atlanta Zoo in the United States on November 3, 2010. Interestingly, Kung Fu Panda was a box office blockbuster at the time, and the baby giant panda was initially mistaken by the breeder at the Atlanta Zoo to be male, so the new-born baby giant panda was named after the lead character in the movie by Dreamworks when they visited the zoo. In 2013, Po, three years old, was about to return to China from Atlanta; however, it was quite the shock when the Kung Fu Panda turned out to be a girl when the staff was applying for Po to return to China. This is the first time for Po. The mistaken “lad”, to be a mom. After a lot of effort, she successfully held her babies in her arms and licked them in just under 2 minutes. Po is a responsible good mother.

　　Population of captive giant pandas in Chengdu reaches 200

The Base was established in 1987, when a mere six sick and starving giant pandas were handed over to it. After over 3 decades of effort, the Base, without capturing a single wild giant panda, has bred the largest population of captive giant pandas in the world by constantly innovating its technology and mastering world-leading giant panda breeding core technologies. The population of captive giant panda at the Base reached 200 after Po gave birth to her pigeon twins, the heaviest of its kind in the world.

191 births and 298 cubs have been bred by the Base in total, and 200 live in the Base at present, including 22 litters and 37 cubs born overseas.