Giant panda Meng Meng’s twin cubs ‘gaining strength’ nearly 3 weeks after birth

The 11-year-old giant panda Meng Meng's twin panda cubs have been gaining strength after they were born on August 22 at Zoo Berlin, in Germany, while their mother Meng Meng's health is being monitored 24 hours a day around the clock, according to the information shared by Zoo Berlin with the Global Times.

Meng Meng is being "cared for by keepers who have been familiar with her for many years," as well as by two very experienced colleagues from Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to an email sent to the Global Times by Zoo Berlin.

According to the latest blog post from the zoo, the panda team has been excited by the healthy weight development of the panda cubs. Their fluffy black ears, characteristic eye patches, and well-filled bellies indicate that they are starting to look like real giant pandas, the zoo wrote. The weight gain of the two cubs is particularly satisfactory. They have more than doubled their birth weight and currently weigh 510 g and 450 g, according to the zoo. 

The zoo said that it can't predict exactly when the cubs will be on display for visitors for the first time, but there is hope that it will be later this year.

There is strong collaboration and ongoing communication between the Zoo Berlin and the giant panda base in Chengdu. On special occasions, such as mating season and births, the giant panda base in Chengdu will dispatch a carefully selected team of experts to Berlin. 

It's not the first time that Meng Meng has given birth to twins. Meng Meng arrived in Germany in 2017 from China. In August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to the twin panda cubs, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, in Germany. In December 2023, the twins were returned to China.