South Korea: A wave of excitement after the birth of the giant panda twins

A South Korean zoo has announced the birth of giant panda twins, the first in the country, sparking a wave of excitement on social media.

Birth delights South Koreans. Two giant pandas have been born in a zoo in South Korea. The first of its kind in the country.

The twins were born on Friday at Everland amusement park, near the capital, which featured them in a video on its YouTube channel. The video, uploaded Tuesday, shows the mother, Ai Bao, in labour, rolling around in her cage before giving birth to two baby pandas.

The zoo said the first twin weighed 180 grams and the second 140 grams. “Mother and twin pandas are both healthy,” a zoo representative said in a statement. The video of the twins’ birth has been viewed 640,000 times on YouTube since it was posted.

A zoo in South Korea said it recently welcomed the first giant panda twins to be born in the country https://t.co/QwPoQ9Om6i pic.twitter.com/QUQdAe0bCb

Reuters July 11, 2023

In July 2020, Ai Bao gave birth to Lu Bao, the first giant panda born in South Korea via natural reproduction.

Giant panda twins unanimously

“Welcome to the world, dear children! Congratulations to the Bao family,” a netizen wrote. Another commented, “Tears are falling from my eyes because I am so proud of Ai Bao! Well done Ai Bao!”

Ai Bao and Le Bao, Sr., arrived in South Korea in 2016 as official gifts from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Outside of China, only about twenty animal parks have these herbivores, and they are symbols of Beijing’s diplomatic friendships.

Beijing lends pandas to foreign zoos, which generally have to send their potential offspring to China within a few years of their birth, in order to incorporate them into the country’s breeding program.