On August 7, Chengdu Giant Panda Nini gave birth to female twin panda cubs who will become members of 2015 Olympic Babies in the giant panda family in Chengdu. The elder cub weighs 145.6g while the younger one weighs 204.1g. Both mother and the cubs are in good shape so far.

As of August 7, 2015, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding bred 11 panda cubs (in 6 births) including 5 pairs of twins (i.e. two pairs of female twins and three pairs of male twins). What is remarkable is that Jingjing’s, Siyuan’s and Nini’s cubs were born in succession within five days of each other. This created another new record for giant panda breeding, becoming a brand-new milestone for research of giant panda breeding this year, and presenting a generous gift for our country’s successful bid for Olympic Games!

On June 22, Kelin, the protagonist in the photo “Panda watching AV” among the “Most Surprising Photos of 2013” selected by the Times, gave birth to female twin panda cubs—the first panda twin cubs born in the world in 2015; on July 26, Xiaoyatou gave birth to male twin cubs; on August 2 when China won the bid for Winter Olympic Games, Jingjing—mascot panda of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Siyuan—“Aunt of White Gloves” gave birth to male twin panda cubs in succession on the same day, presenting a gift of good luck for our country’s successful bid for Olympic Games. Yesterday, Nini, one of the Olympic mascots (i.e. Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini) also gave birth to female twin panda cubs.

According to Wu Kongju—a giant panda expert and Deputy Director of the Animal Management Department of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, giant panda Nini had her first estrus in this spring. On July 8, Nini began to eat less; after over 30 days of a decreased diet, on the morning of August 6, she started to show parturient signs such as agitation, walking more frequently and frequent urination. On August 7, her amniotic fluid broke at 15:00; after more than three hours of labor, Nini gave birth to twin cubs at 18:10 and 18:31.

So far, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has bred a total of 211 panda cubs in 139 births and established the largest captive population of 146 giant pandas in the world.

Giant panda Nini gave birth to female twin cubs

Nini’s female twin cubs

Nini’s female twin cubs

Nini’s female twin cubs