Adorable twin red pandas born in North Carolina, photos show. ‘Double the excitement’
Adorable twin red pandas were born in North Carolina — bringing “double the excitement” to a wildlife center, photos show.
The baby boy and girl each were about the size of a human hand after they were welcomed to the Greensboro Science Center, according to pictures shared with McClatchy News on June 14.
“We are so excited to have two cubs this time because they can play with each other and grow up together,” Kelly Rauch, red panda lead keeper, said in a news release. “Watching them interact should be a lot of fun for everyone.”
For those who can’t wait to see for themselves, the babies are scheduled to make their public debut at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, June 15. Visitors can get a peek in the nursery at the center’s Shearer Animal Hospital.
“In addition to viewing the cubs through the surgery window, guests are invited to watch feedings,” which are expected to be at 11:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. but could change, officials wrote in a Facebook post.
The births were announced more than two weeks after red panda mom Usha and dad Tai welcomed the cubs into the world May 26. The twins — which hadn’t been named as of June 14 — are the second litter born at the science center.
Last June, the red panda parents welcomed a baby boy named Ravi. The science center said it decided to hand-rear that cub “due to Usha’s history.”
“Pandas in both the wild and in human care unfortunately occasionally kill their cubs — something Usha has done in the past,” Jessica Hoffman, vice president for animal care and welfare, wrote at the time in a news release. “This was a risk we did not want to take.”
Now, as the family grows, the center also is taking precautions with its newborns.
“Due to the genetic value of these cubs, we were also recommended to hand-rear if we saw any concerning behaviors from Usha again,” officials wrote. “After monitoring her for several hours on camera with the cubs, we started to see some precursor behaviors that concerned us about the cubs’ safety, so we pulled them for hand-rearing.”
The center said the twins were born weighing less than a quarter of a pound but could grow to be up to 17 pounds. Red pandas live in the wild in parts of Asia and are considered an endangered species.
“Tai’s genetics are still highly valuable for the population,” making him an ideal breeding candidate, officials said. His newborns are starting to make their mark.
“Their personalities are already starting to shine through,” Rauch wrote. “The male is always looking for his sister after their feeds, while the female is independent and has a lot to say.”
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Adorable twin red pandas born in North Carolina, photos show. ‘Double the excitement’."
