The giant panda Huan Huan, which means "Happy" in Chinese, and her twin cubs inside their enclosure after she gave birth at Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France, on August 1. Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty ImagesHuan Huan, a giant panda, gave birth to twin female cubs Monday morning.Huan Huan, a Chinese student on loan, is staying in Paris' Beauval Zoo.The breeding efforts started in March and the associate director of the zoo called the birth "exceptional."For more stories, visit Insider's homepage.On Monday morning, a giant panda from China was loaned to France and gave birth to twin female cubs. Each cub weighed less that a third of one pound.Beauval Zoo, located south of Paris, stated in a statement that Huan Huan was "very bright, rose, and plump"Further, the statement said that Huan Huan was a good mother and took care of the cubs by putting them in her mouth so they could lick and clean.Huan Huan with her twins. Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty ImagesThe mother cares for her cubs right after they are born. She is more experienced than she was 4 years ago and knows how to do it. According to Rodolphe Delord (zoo director), we can see that she is not willing to let go.The Washington Post was told by Delphine Delord that the birth of the cubs was an "exceptional" result of breeding efforts that started in March.The first twin is held by a caretaker. Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty ImagesAccording to Zoo Atlanta's curator for mammals Rebecca Snyder, about half of giant pandas give birth in the same time as twins. This was when Lun Lun (a giant panda) gave birth to twins.Snyder stated that twin births are quite common in giant pandas. However, Snyder said that both twins will not survive. This is because the newborns don't even open their eyes for six weeks and don't move for three months.In the first few weeks, the mothers must hold the cubs and position them to nurse. Snyder stated that sometimes they aren't able to position them correctly and one of them falls.According to the article, zoos rotate their cubs back-and-forth between their mother, and an incubator in order to combat this.Continue the storyThe first bottle is given to the twin by the caretaker. Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty ImagesAccording to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only 1,864 giant pandas left in China's wild. It is difficult for them to reproduce naturally since females only ovulate one per year.China has loaned giant pandas to other Zoos for years in the hope of increasing their breeding efforts.The Post reported that Huan Huan, her partner Yuan Zi, and their first loan to France were made from China in 2012.Insider reached Beauval Zoo for comment but they didn't respond immediately.Insider has the original article.
