Panda Sets Record as Oldest First-Time Panda Mom

Hong Kong has celebrated the birth of its first locally born giant pandas, announced the Ocean Park theme park where they live on Thursday. Ying Ying set a record as the world's oldest first-time mother of her species, giving birth just one day shy of her 19th birthday. The twins, a male and a female, were delivered early Thursday morning after over five hours of labor.

Ocean Park highlighted the challenges of panda reproduction, noting that pregnancies in pandas are notoriously hard to detect. Indeed, though her care team suspected she was showing pregnancy symptoms in late July, Ying Ying's pregnancy wasn't confirmed until Sunday. Both newborns are currently fragile, with the female cub requiring additional care due to lower body temperature and weaker cries. Visitors will have to wait a few months before seeing them.

Ocean Park Corp. chairman Paulo Pong lauded the joint efforts of local and mainland Chinese experts in aiding the birth. "The birth is a true rarity," Pong stated, given Ying Ying's age. Hong Kong leader John Lee also thanked Beijing for gifting the pandas, a gesture he said underscores China's support for the city. A third pair of pandas from China is expected to arrive in Hong Kong later this year. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)