On August 15th, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government announced that the giant pandas “Ying Ying” and “Le Le,” gifted to Hong Kong by the central government, successfully mated naturally at Hong Kong Ocean Park in March this year. The female giant panda “Ying Ying” gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, on the same day at 2:05 AM and 3:27 AM, respectively.
According to the Hong Kong SAR Government Information Services, this period is crucial for the health of the newborn pandas. The professional animal care team at Hong Kong Ocean Park, together with experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, is carefully tending to “Ying Ying” and her two cubs until their condition is fully stabilized.
In 1999, the central government gifted Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas, “An An” and “Jia Jia.” On the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, the central government gifted a second pair of giant pandas, “Le Le” and “Ying Ying,” to Hong Kong. “Jia Jia” passed away in 2016 at the age of 38, making her the oldest captive giant panda in the world. “An An” passed away in 2022 at the age of 35. Both “Ying Ying” and “Le Le” were born in August 2005.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee expressed heartfelt gratitude to the nation for gifting giant pandas to the Hong Kong SAR, demonstrating its care and support for Hong Kong. He also thanked the Hong Kong Ocean Park team for their dedicated care of “An An,” “Jia Jia,” “Ying Ying,” and “Le Le” over the years, as well as the ongoing support from the experts at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, which has enabled “Ying Ying” and “Le Le” to welcome a pair of twins in Hong Kong.