Madrid zoo ecstatic over birth of twin panda cubs

Veterinarians at Madrid's zoo were ecstatic over the birth of two giant panda cubs, seen as a boost to conservation efforts for the vulnerable species. https://str.sg/35aZ

"It was a very special moment that we had twins, so we contributed to preserve this endangered species," told Reuters Madrid zoo veterinary Eva Martinez.

The pair, whose sex is yet to be determined, were born on Monday (September 6). They are the fifth and sixth cubs of Madrid's female panda Hua Zui Ba and her partner Bing Xing, the zoo said.

It will not be until approximately two and a half months later, when they are usually strong enough, when they can be seen and a name with Spanish-Chinese symbolism will be chosen, which will be voted on through the Madrid Zoo's social networks.

In July, Chinese conservationists announced they no longer considered pandas to be an endangered species, upgrading their status a notch to vulnerable.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature made a similar change to its classification in 2016.

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