South Korean panda gives birth to twins for first time

The South Korean Everland Zoo has welcomed the first giant panda twins born in the country, the zoo announced in a YouTube video on Tuesday.

The twins, weighing 180 grams, and 140 grams, are both female, their birth comes three years after Fu Bao, the first panda to be born in South Korea, from the same parents, Ai Bao and Le Bao.

“This feels like a great opportunity to call for better protection and preservation of pandas, which have become a symbol for endangered species, compared to when Fu Bao was born, there are two of them this time and I think the parents must be twice as happy,” said Donghee Chung, the head of the zoo.

Panda births are rare, with a chance between 40 to 50 percent.

Pandas, which are native to China, has been sent as ambassadors to other countries as a sign of goodwill since the 1950s, as part of China’s panda diplomacy.