Giant panda Ying Ying gives birth to twins

The two giant pandas Ying Ying and Le Le, gifted to Hong Kong by Beijing in 2007, successfully mated at Ocean Park where Ying Ying gave birth to a pair of twins on Thursday.

In March this year, the two giant pandas succeeded in natural mating at the Park. After a nearly five-month pregnancy, Ying Ying safely delivered the twin cubs at 2.05am and 3.27am, following over five hours of labor.

The female cub weighs 122g and the male weighs 112g, marking the birth of the first-ever giant panda twins in the city.

The delivery occurred just one day before Ying Ying's 19th birthday, making her the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time.

The Park stated that being a first-time mother, Ying Ying was nervous throughout the process and spent much of her time lying on the ground and twisting.

Both cubs are currently very fragile and need time to stabilize. The female cub has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake after birth.

The babies are under 24-hour intensive care by the Park's animal care and veterinary team, as well as experts from China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.

The Park said it might take a few months for the cubs to make their debut and officially meet the public.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would like to express gratitude to Beijing for gifting the giant pandas to Hong Kong and would also like to thank Ocean Park's team for taking good care of An An, Jia Jia, Ying Ying, and Le Le over the years.