emirates7 - Berlin Zoo announced on Friday that Meng Meng, their long-time resident giant panda, has given birth to twins for the second time.

The cubs were born on Thursday and are in good health, the zoo reported. The birth occurred just 11 days after ultrasound scans confirmed that the 11-year-old panda was pregnant. The sex of the cubs has not yet been definitively determined.

The zoo emphasized the importance of the critical first few days, noting that the cubs are very small, weighing 169 grams and 136 grams (approximately 6 ounces and 4.8 ounces) and measuring around 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) in length.

Like other large bears, giant pandas are born deaf, blind, and pink, with their distinctive black-and-white markings developing later.

Meng Meng and the male panda Jiao Qing have been residents of Berlin Zoo since 2017. In August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to Pit and Paule, also known by their Chinese names Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, the first giant pandas born in Germany. The twin cubs were a major attraction in Berlin, but they were sent to China in December as part of a contractual agreement that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For decades, China has practiced “panda diplomacy,” gifting pandas to friendly nations; however, pandas are now loaned to zoos under commercial terms.

Given the challenges of breeding giant pandas, their births are especially celebrated. Approximately 1,800 pandas live in the wild in China, with a few hundred more in captivity worldwide.

Meng Meng was artificially inseminated in March, as female pandas are only fertile for about 72 hours each year.