How old is Ying Ying? Hong Kong's giant panda becomes world's oldest first-time mother as she gives birth to twins 

Ying Ying, a giant panda from Hong Kong's Ocean Park, has become the oldest panda to give birth to twins at 19 years old, equivalent to 57 human years, as per CNN. She delivered her cubs on August 15, 2024, the day before her birthday. After over a decade of attempts with her partner Le Le, Ying Ying successfully gave birth. The park has shared photos of the newborn cubs, who are currently pink, and the size of her palm.

The female giant panda and her partner conceived the cubs in March, however, her pregnancy was kept a secret throughout, due to the many miscarriages the panda had already gone through. At the same time, these pandas, both Ying Ying and Le Le were gifted to the Hong Kong Ocean Park by China after the former British colony returned to China’s rule in 1997.

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“This birth is a true rarity”— Details explored as chairman of the Ocean Park addresses the birth of Ying Ying’s cubs

As the Hong Kong Ocean Park announced the news about the giant panda delivering her cubs, now making the oldest female panda to deliver babies, the chairman of Ocean Park, Paulo Pong also addressed the birth and said in a statement:

“This birth is a true rarity, especially considering Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time. Both cubs are currently very fragile and need time to stabilize, especially the female cub who has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake after birth.”

The chairman continued about how the mom panda is “nervous” at the moment, as she is a first-time mother. Moreover, nervousness was also due to her many miscarriages previously. The statement read:

“Giant pandas have a notoriously difficult time reproducing, especially as they age. As a first-time mother, Ying Ying was understandably nervous throughout the process. She spent much of her time lying on the ground and twisting.”

As per CBS News, the park also specified that amongst Ying’s twins, the female cub is “fragile,” and needs more attention at the moment, as she “has a lower body temperature.” The park also mentioned that the female cub has weaker cries, and a lower food intake after birth, than normal.

As per the publication, there are only 1,800 pandas in the world, out of which, most are in western China. The giant pandas, like Ying, have one fertile period throughout the year, which also lasts for just 3 days. Beijing has been trying to boost the population of this species so that they can be saved from extinction.