Giant panda in Chongqing gives birth to twins

A giant panda named Ershun gave birth to twin cubs late July at a zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, and they are in good condition at present, the zoo announced Monday.

Ershun mated naturally with a male panda at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the neighboring province of Sichuan in March, the Chongqing Zoo said.

The cubs weighed 132 grams and 91 grams, respectively, when they were born on July 22. They have reached a weight of 420 grams and 257 grams, respectively, the zoo said.

This was Ershun's second delivery to twins.

Born in August 2007, Ershun lived in Canada's Toronto Zoo and Calgary Zoo as a goodwill envoy between March 2013 and November 2020.

A total of 21 pandas currently live in the Chongqing Zoo, which began breeding giant pandas in the 1960s.