FSP-Microcosm News-Global Community Report: Giant panda Lun Lun shocks handlers as she delivers rare twins at Atlanta zoo

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Giant panda Lun Lun shocks handlers as she delivers rare twins at Atlanta zoo - the first in America for 26 years

Twin pandas have not been born in an American zoo since 1987

'We have twins!': Zookeepers couldn't contain their excitement Monday after unexpected delivery

By Ap Reporter
PUBLISHED: 01:13 EST, 16 July 2013 | UPDATED: 05:37 EST, 16 July 2013

A giant panda at Zoo Atlanta gave birth to the first twins born to the species in an American zoo since 1987.
The 15-year-old Lun Lun went into labor Monday afternoon and gave birth to the first cub at 6:21 and the second two minutes later.
Zookeepers who had been anticipating only one cub based on a recent ultrasound were surprised by the first-ever twin panda births at Zoo Atlanta.
‘We have twins!’ Zoo Atlanta announced on its website.

Surprise! 15-year-old Lun Lun was to be a mom for the fourth time, but ended up birthing a set of twins Monday to the surprise and joy of Zoo Atlanta staff

An ultrasound on June 30 determined that Lun Lun was pregnant with her fourth cub. Zoo spokesperson Keisha Hines says zookeepers weren't expecting the tiny duo, however.
The twin cubs are the first giant pandas to be born in the United States in 2013, Hines added.
Zoo officials are working with animal care workers from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where Lun Lun and her 15-year-old partner, Yang Yang, were born. There was no immediate report on the size or weight of the cubs at birth, nor the condition of the offspring and mother.
But zoo officials were in a celebratory mood.

Twins! In a first for an American zoo since 1987 and first ever for Zoo Atlanta, 15-year-old Lun Lun gave birth to this rare set of giant panda twins on Monday