Giant Panda Sets World Records As Species’ Oldest First-Time Mother

Ying Ying, a giant panda living at a theme park in Hong Kong, just gave birth to twins, becoming the oldest member of her species on record to become a mother for the first time.

Measuring in panda years

According to representatives from Ocean Park, Ying Ying has lived with her partner Le Le at the tourist destination since 2007 and the new mother recently celebrated her 19th birthday. Based on the giant panda’s average life expectancy, that translates to roughly 57 in human years.

The birth of any giant panda generally makes headlines, but Ocean Park Corporation chairman Paulo Pong said that the recent birth “is a true rarity” given the mother’s age.

“As a first-time mother, Ying Ying was understandably nervous throughout the process,” the park explained in a statement. “She spent much of her time lying on the ground and twisting.”

Reports indicate labor, which can be complicated for the species, lasted for about five hours.

Introducing the babies

Ying Ying reportedly gave birth to a female cub first, which weighed about 4.3 ounces, and delivered a male about an hour later, which tipped the scales at just under 4 ounces.

As of the latest updates available, both of the cubs were “very fragile” and remained in intensive care. They are not expected to appear in public for at least a few months.

There have been some promising developments in efforts to increase the population of giant pandas, which are no longer classified as endangered but are still listed as vulnerable.

Meng Meng, a giant panda living at the Berlin Zoo in Germany, is expected to give birth to twins later this month. She has been pregnant before, having previously delivered another set of twin cubs.

Chris Agee August 17th, 2024

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