STORY: Giant panda Meng Meng gives birth to twins at Berlin zoo
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 23 & 24, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:56
LOCATION: Berlin
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of staff caring for a newborn giant panda cub (Courtesy of Zoo Berlin)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (German): FLORIAN SICKS, Biologist and panda curator
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (German): CORVIN SCHMOHL, Caregiver
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (German): ANDREAS KNIERIEM, Zoo and Tierpark Director
5. various of the Panda Garden at Zoo Berlin

STORYLINE:

Meng Meng, an 11-year-old female giant panda at Zoo Berlin, has given birth to twins, zoo authorities announced on Friday.

The cubs weigh 169g and 136g and measure approximately 14cm in length. According to the zoo, the cubs are breastfed every two to three hours and are otherwise cared for by the panda team in a warm, cozy incubator.

SOUNDBITE 1 (German): FLORIAN SICKS, Biologist and panda curator
"Everything went very smoothly. The cubs weighed 169 grams and 136 grams, which is an excellent weight for panda cubs. Panda cubs are born very small and underdeveloped, looking almost like tiny fetuses. They are still pink, without any black spots on their skin. They can't hear and see with few hairs. The cubs have virtually no immune system at this stage and cannot produce essential nutrients independently of their mother, so they require an extraordinary amount of care from Meng Meng. She is now fully occupied with looking after them around the clock."

Due to the cubs' uncertain sex, the zoo has not yet decided on their names.

SOUNDBITE 2 (German): CORVIN SCHMOHL, Caregiver
"As mentioned before, they are less than a day old (on the day of the interview), so it's too early to tell if there are any significant differences between them. In fact, this birth was quite similar to the last one. Meng Meng's behavior was almost identical. She immediately took the cubs in her arms; the instinct of the mother was immediately there. It's truly reassuring to see everything going so well. At the moment, everything looks very good."

Born in China, Meng Meng arrived in Germany in 2017. In August 2019, she gave birth to the first-ever twin panda cubs, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan. In line with the agreement between Zoo Berlin and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the twins returned to their hometown of Chengdu after living in Berlin for four years.

Meng Meng was artificially inseminated on March 26 following intensive observation and careful preparation by an international team of experts. Natural mating was attempted at first.

The first signs of a successful pregnancy appeared on Aug. 11, when an ultrasound detected two heartbeats. The twins were born just 11 days later, following a gestation period of 149 days.

SOUNDBITE 3 (German): ANDREAS KNIERIEM, Zoo and Tierpark Director
"I believe that the successful breeding of pandas shows the importance of working together. This year, we again received help from (China's) Chengdu, particularly in artificial insemination and its precise timing."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Berlin.
(XHTV)